


The Misadventures Of The Starship Liltha (Draft II)

by GypsumLilac (RyftWyrd)



Series: Finished Works [4]
Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Angst, Enby reader, F/F, F/M, Far Future, Feedback is welcomed, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Hate to Love, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired By Star Trek, M/M, Multi, Not for the faint of heart, Other, SPAAAAACE!!!, Slow Burn, Smart Papyrus (ofc), Space Battles, Space Empires, Space Opera, Transgender Characters, Transgender Papyrus (MtF), Under Renovation, betaread, space lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:02:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 46
Words: 181,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23875729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyftWyrd/pseuds/GypsumLilac
Summary: Papyrus/Reader in SPACE. Adventure, Romance, Drama.{AN (12/16/20): I majorly screwed up with the storytelling aspect of this (Part of the problem being an entire character arc focused on "curing" a disabled character :/ sorry), so it's either going to be deleted or renovated, and I don't know which yet.}
Relationships: MK/OC, Papyrus & Reader, Papyrus/Reader, Undyne/Alphys
Series: Finished Works [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1546042
Comments: 92
Kudos: 22





	1. Like An Unsung Melody

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Adventures of The Starship Liltha (Draft I)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19929106) by [GypsumLilac (RyftWyrd)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyftWyrd/pseuds/GypsumLilac). 

> Disclaimer: I don't condone any of the characters' world-views or actions portrayed in this narrative. It's up to the readers to decide how they want to interpret the story. 
> 
> **CONTENT WARNINGS**: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death (both temporary and permanent), Eventual Sex, Transphobia/Misgendering, Transgender Identity Struggles, Manipulation, Physical/Mental Abuse, Filthy Language, Unhealthy/Toxic Relationships (both romantic and platonic). 
> 
> Hey, y'all! Thank you, and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! It's a pretty long fic, and it gets dark at times, but it has cheerful goofy fluff in it, too. ;P 
> 
> Thanks especially to my four lovely betareaders, [Norasilotak](https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/Norasilotak/pseuds/Norasilotak), [DreamSoftly](https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/DreamSoftly/pseuds/DreamSoftly), [SixthSeason](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SixthSeason), and [Melhrain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melhrain/pseuds/Melhrain) for being amazing and awesome!!
> 
> Additional note (12/8/20): Upon re-reading this work, I was disappointed in my portrayal of certain elements, particularly MK's disability. I justified it to myself while writing it, but I now can't deny that the trope of "curing" a character's disability is obviously there. I apologize for that mistake, and while I won't edit this work, I am working on getting better at portraying disability in my works.
> 
> ADDITIONAL NOTE (12/16/20): I just can't let it stay this way. I'm either going to fix my main major screwup or I'm going to delete the entire work.
> 
> ... nevermind, i'm just leaving it how it is, screw it all.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter titles are taken from [The Light](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr1UOfvMFt0) by Disturbed.

The Manta-class dreadnought _Liltha_ boasts six fusion-core engines and over fifty-four weapons, including plasma cannons, massive railguns, lasers, and grapplers. As Admiral Papyrus Eleos's flagship, it's more than earned its reputation for absolutely crushing his enemies. Yet you still feel sick with fear that this time will be the last. With a vacuum in one hand and the other gripping the harness around you, you somehow manage to stay on your feet as the _Liltha_ performs maneuvers that would be impossible in the atmosphere of any planet yet make total sense in the midst of an asteroid field.

Anything could happen. Anything could kill you. Asteroids could collide around the _Liltha_. Her engines could be hit and explode. She could be boarded and stripped. But in the last case, you might have a chance at convincing the enemies that you're one of them, thus saving your own life.

The eerily silent halls echo with your growl as you pretend you're an angry dragon, but even that can't get your mind off of potential impending death. 

There's no viewports where you are, only the crazy gravity to give a dim idea of what's happening, and you don't dare release the harness. Fortunately, your panicked thoughts are never proven right, as the Admiral's fleet always defeats the enemy. And, well, you have your lucky cards with you as a distraction. You flip through them and idly play a game of Float with yourself. If they could alter the course of battles, you'd use all the power they grant you, but you're pretty sure all they're good for is finding lost things, like socks and cookies. 

Eventually, crewmen trickle back into the mural-covered halls as the battle comes to its end. Your anxiety fades into relief at another win. Unbuckling, you put the vacuum away in a nearby maintenance closet. You head to the crew mess hall to cook for the second shift. Maybe you'll be able to eavesdrop to find out how the fight went. The end is the most exciting part of any campaign. You wish the Admiral would just start exploring star systems and nebulas already instead of constantly rushing headlong into battles with the Alliance.

You start across the ladder to the next ring out and focus on holding onto the rungs, not looking out of the transparent metal surrounding you. So, when someone shoves you, you yelp and cling to the ladder before you can bump into the star-flecked walls. Your eyes meet the fury of a lanky skeleton-form sedryn. "_Eep_!"

"OUT OF MY WAY!" He booms, so far living up to the adani pejorative _monster_ for his kind. Jerk.

Your lips stretch in a nervous smile, baring your teeth, imagining they're sharp and pointy fangs. "I was here first."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY??"

"_Ru~ude_!" You sing-song back. "If you want me to move, ask nicely."

"_MOVE_, I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!! YOU HAVE ONE SECOND BEFORE I WRITE YOU UP FOR INSUBORDINATION!"

"You can _try_." You mumble under your breath, smirking slightly. Then you flinch back as he looms over you with a scowl. "Uh- s-sorry, sir." It probably isn't the best idea to piss off the asshole officer, or he might discover the absence of you in the ship's databases. And then it's out the airlock for you.

"That's More Like It." He growls. "Now Fuck Off Before I Skewer You And Feed You To The Fusion Cores."

You swing around to the side, closing your eyes to avoid the sight of ginormous asteroids right outside. The asshole officer scoffs as he glides past you. "Grow A Fucking Spine, Soldier."

"_Grr_." You growl, refusing to take shit from anybody. Not anymore. You stowed away on this ship just so you could escape the authority of your mother. As you start to clamber back onto the ladder, your eyes still closed, your feet bump against him.

He lets out a furious snarl, much scarier than your puny growl. You yelp and scramble across the ladder, propelling yourself towards the hole at the other end. "THAT'S RIGHT, RUN AND DON'T LET ME SEE YOUR GODDAMN FACE AGAIN!! EVER!!" He shouts after you.

You can't resist getting the last word as you pause with one hand on the hatch. "Why would I _want_ to see your ugly skull again??"

He shrieks as you slip out of the hatch and slam it closed. Hysterical laughter bubbles up. You just pissed off an officer and lived to tell the tale. It's definitely not a first, but the euphoria of escaping karma never gets old.

When you reach the mess hall, the crewmen complain at you for being late. You rummage around in the kitchen and come up with the last of the Lagolassi bear meat. That, along with various vegetables and spices, will make enough stew for everyone on the ship to last a week. You'll have to make about five separate stews to satisfy the different preferences, and your fellow cooks have already made a few pies and salads. The admiral should stop at a refuel station eventually to stock up on food.

As you cook, you listen in on the crewmen's gossip. Most of them know you stowed away, but none of them would tell any of the officers, for a few different reasons. You're the unofficial cook, janitor, and counselor on the _Liltha_, for one, and while not everyone likes you, they appreciate someone who's willing to pitch in alongside them. Nobody gets paid until the end of the campaign, anyway, so they're all willing to let you slide between the cracks. And for two-

"hey, kid."

-the Ambassador, Sans. You scowl at him as you chop up Terran cucumbers. "The only words I want to hear out of your dumb grin are '_I'm sorry_'."

"apology accepted. but anyway-"

You spin to gesture wildly with the knife, then quickly set it down on the magnetic cutting board before he can scold you for bad knife safety. "No, _you_ apologize to _me_!! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get biogel out of cloth??"

"as i recall, you started this war." The short and stout skeleton-form sedryn winks at you. Yeah, it's true you stole and hid his coat for a whole week, but that didn't make it okay for him to dump your favorite jacket in _biogel_. It was such a lovely shade of purple, too, the color you'd be if you had scales instead of squishy_ skin_. 

"And I plan to end it!!" You cry. "Now get out of my kitchen, Sans, before I throw you into my stew!"

"nah." He says. You huff at him and he pats the air placatingly. "i've got a favor to ask. my bro's been real pissy lately. you think you could distract him for a bit?"

"Su~ure, _bruh_." You're intentionally trying to be obnoxious, but it never works on Sans. You have to be thankful for that, really, as he's the only reason you've survived so long as a stowaway.

His grin just widens, ignoring your rudeness. "thanks, kiddo. i owe ya one." Then he grabs a bottle of sriracha and disappears in a flash of black.

"Hmph." You scowl at the dirty prints of his slippers. More work for you, yay. The clamor of complainers waiting for dinner becomes hard to ignore. "Fine, fine, here you mutinous jackasses go."

"Fucking hell, why can't we get a break already." A meryn grumbles, her wide brown scales hackling with anger. The pangolin-esque species usually hates fighting, so you're pretty sure she signed on thinking that this was an exploration campaign.

"Admiral Papyrus is doing his best to convince the Chancellors to grant a furlough." Someone else pipes up.

"_Damn_ those idiots!!" The meryn cries, her scales flaring as her broad tail curls up. "They take _years_ to come to any decisions!"

As the room erupts into various arguments, you consider your situation. Sans Eleos is the Admiral's older brother. Sans is a skeleton. It follows then, since sedryn families generally have the same traits, that Papyrus is a skeleton too. Skeleton-forms are rare. Therefore, the skeleton you met in the ring connector must be Papyrus. _Therefore_. Papyrus is a complete dickhead.

"Hey, I've got an idea," You pipe up. Sans told you to provide a distraction, after all. He never mentioned what kind. And the starmas are just desperate enough to listen.

* * *

Admiral Papyrus Eleos, commander of the flagship _Liltha_ and the Dragonfly fleet, paces in his office, fists clenched as fury burns through his soul. His Commodore, dressed in the Republic-issued blue and gold, waits. The orders from the Chancellors float in stiff holographic detail above his desk. He slams a gloved fist on the wall. "WHAT IN THE HIGH BLAZING STARS ARE THEY _THINKING_??" He rages.

"Unknown, sir." The commodore replies. They're used to his angry outbursts.

Papyrus glances at their name-tag. K'talla. So the garthaglaw is a girl today. He crushes the tentacle of jealousy threatening to drown him. Scoffing bitterly, he turns away, but lowers his volume as he says, "We Can't Keep Fighting Nonstop Like This."

"Agreed, but orders are orders." Her mandibles chitter in tired annoyance.

"_FUCK_ ORDERS!! DO YOU HONESTLY THINK EVERYONE CAN KEEP ON GOING WITHOUT A SINGLE FURLOUGH FOR EVEN SIX MORE MONTHS??" This is all that brash insubordinate starma's fault. If Papyrus hadn't been delayed in the slide, he wouldn't have missed the Chancellor's call and he would've been able to argue for leniency.

K'talla meets his glare with her shiny black eyes as the iridescent green shell-wings rustle on her back. Garthaglaw has many different species, but the beetles are the most prevalent. Papyrus thinks she's rather pretty, in a professional detached _jealous _sort of way. "Sir, I'm sure they'll grant a furlough when they think we've earned one."

That was not what he wanted to hear. Papyrus lets out a visceral growl, rattling his bones. She flinches, ducking her head into her thorax. Immediate regret nearly douses his rage, but he holds onto the blaze in his soul. "_Earned_ _One_??" He hisses. "We've Been Out Here Doing Their Dirty Work, Being Their Dogs, For _Five_ _Fucking_ _Years_."

"Correct, sir." She says, and the hint of anger beneath her calm tone soothes him. "But there are other fleets in the quadrant who have been campaigning longer without furlough. The Chancellors don't consider our request to be fair to them."

"FAIR?? _Pah_!!" He snarls. "We've Been On The Front Lines Fighting Their Battles!! Name _One_ Other Fleet That Helped Push Back The Dagnir Invasion Of Garthaglaw!"

"Sir, what choice do we have?" K'talla asks.

One answer tempts Papyrus in particular. _Mutiny_. But if he rebelled, the Republic of Teryn would place a reward on the destruction of his fleet. He growls in frustration, longing to slash his talwar through the meaty Chancellor Arakdu, whose face sits amidst the holographic orders. "We Obey." The concession may be hard to make, but it's his only option. "And After This Next Mission, I Suppose I Must Request Furlough From The Chancellors Personally." Papyrus despises begging. But his fleet's survival and health is marginally more important than his pride.

"Understood, sir. I'll ready the fleet for our next mission." K'talla salutes with a clenched claw over her thorax and promptly leaves the office.

As soon as the door closes behind her, Papyrus lets out a furious shriek, spinning to punch the wall. The plating clangs under his gloved fist, which stings as the force jolts up his arm.

_Damn _the chancellors, who just sit in their chairs passing life-or-death sentences on matters they don't understand; _damn_ those pencil-pushing emotionless uiloth; _damn_ those who support them. Even the _amlyg_, the most economically ruthless and cutthroat species in the Republic, know the value of furlough for their entrepreneurs. But _no_, the uiloth have to be pretentious preening idiots who tout their rationality as superior and sneer at frivolous things such as feelings.

Papyrus has never been good at bottling his emotions. Barely able to control the blaze in his ribs, he focuses on _not destroying_ any of his equipment or paperwork. He'd visited a therapist for a couple months after Frisk broke the Barrier and got peace for the sedryn, but then the therapist refused to see him anymore, saying he was too arrogant to accept help. _Preposterous_. Papyrus never needed help in the first place. The only good thing to come out of that whole debacle was the coping mechanism of counting to ten and breathing deeply in and out, which Papyrus does as his bones rattle. When he's counted to ten about thirteen times, he's mostly calm and collected again.

He stomps out onto the bridge and his officers stand at attention to salute him. "At Ease!" He scans them with a scowl. Commodore K'talla has already gone back to her own ship, the Raptor-class _Irmex_.

Papyrus adjusts the ragged crimson scarf around his neck, which has been with him for as long as he can remember. He throws out a hand in a dramatic gesture. "Ensign Jazz, set a course for Kavros!" He turns, still scowling. "And Lieutenant Dexi, relay mission orders fleet-wide!" Jazz salutes.

"Aye, sir." Dexi replies, her warm starry eyes glittering with concern. Despite the empathic Curunir race's appearances of massively complex nervous systems underneath translucent skin being considered eery by most, Papyrus considers them lovely, and she's no exception. She can sense the dark storm in his ribcage, the nerves nearest her skin glowing with pink pity.

Papyrus ignores her, though, knowing she'd only suggest he see the counselor. He's not sure who the counselor on the _Liltha_ is, if the ship even has one. He doesn't care. He's fine. Everything is fine. Dexi glides past him and taps his shoulder with a gentle hand. Cold spreads through his bones from the touch and he relaxes as the beast in his soul calms, granting temporary peace.

* * *

The Dragonflies complete the mission in record time. Record for the longest amount of time taken to capture a single ship, that is. Papyrus really does try to not chew out his officers too badly, who all tried their best, but he's as tired of this shit as they are. Lieutenant Suzy, tactics officer, bears the brunt of the harsh scolding, as she made a mistake that almost got one of his ships destroyed.

But when he realizes how upset his bridge officers all are, how ashamed they are of the near-loss, he stops short and storms out of the bridge. They don't deserve his anger and frustration being taken out on them. He locks himself in his quarters. "Iroh, activate Orthor."

The shipboard computer replies in a calm low voice, "Of course, sir. Would you like to start a new game?"

"No. Bring up game one-nine-six, cycle through the moves." He sits in his chair and watches intently as the holographic game-board fills the room. Ships, asteroids, planets, all in a massive strategy game.

Papyrus can control a fleet of over fifty ships in the game. Yet he can't even take proper care of his own real fleet of ten. He's disappointed. It's a relatively new feeling, one he despises, yet it grows steadily stronger over the years. He also feels like shit, but that's an old and familiar, albeit overwhelming, sensation. He ignores both and focuses on analyzing the last game he played. It had been against Sans, who lost for the first time since introducing the game to Papyrus.

Eventually, though, Papyrus falls asleep. He needs the rest. Hopefully his other bridge officers will get rest as well. The third shift-- colloquially known as the ghost shift-- will take care of things.

But he wakes up to a low-pitched whine coming from the computer. "Alert, unauthorized planet entry. Alert."

_The fuck??_ He flicks his com open to Dexi. "Lieutenant, What The Hell Is Going On?? Why Are We Breaching Atmosphere??"

"I'm checking right now, sir. None of us were on the bridge." She replies.

"I'm On My Way As Well." He stomps out of his quarters and to the bridge. His com buzzes, notifying him of a call from Chancellor Arakdu, who oversees him and his fleet. Papyrus despises the uiloth, but this could be his chance to get furlough. He doesn't have time to take the call, though, thanks to whatever idiots on third-shift decided to mess with the routed course.

When he storms onto the bridge, he takes stock of the situation. Several _starmas_ have taken control of the bridge, whooping and hollering as the ship dips dangerously low into the mesosphere of an M class planet. "DRAW AWAY!!" He barks. "EXIT THE ATMOSPHERE **_NOW_**!!"

"Fuck you!!" Someone cries. "We're crashing this motherfucker!!"

"NO, YOU'RE NOT!!" He retorts, crossing his arms and stomping one boot. Ensign Jazz glides past him and shoves the starma at the helm away, regaining control of the ship. "WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?? REPORT TO THE BRIG _IMMEDIATELY_, ALL OF YOU."

The mutineers don't answer, glowering rebelliously. But then Lieutenant-Commander Se'Vir, the security officer, flies onto the bridge with a double team, and the mutineers have no choice but to surrender to being restrained and taken into custody.

"JAZZ, TAKE US BACK TO THE FLEET." Papyrus orders and she salutes silently, a scowl on her face. "I'M GOING TO SPEAK TO CHANCELLOR ARAKDU." The mutineers will be dealt with later, after he's managed to mitigate the damage.

Jazz's scowl drops in worry. "Sir, please don't execute them." She begs. "We're all tired, they just wanted a break."

Papyrus doesn't answer her as he storms into his office. He's missed two calls from the Chancellor. But as he's about to listen to the messages, another call comes. "Admiral Papyrus of the Dragonfly fleet, reporting to Chancellor Arakdu." He answers it, suppressing dread beneath the anger boiling his bones.

"Ahh, Admiral." The chancellor's thick sticky voice fits in sync with the movements of his holographic beak and ruff of green feathers above the desk. "Your ship is off course, having abandoned the rest of your fleet. Explain yourself."

"I saw something interesting in the atmosphere and sent my fleet on ahead." His fists clench; he unclenches them but they curl again, begging to slam into the stupid beak of the chancellor. "We were just about to return."

"The council has come to a decision regarding your _frequent_ problematic behavior, Admiral." Arakdu says, his stupid beak clicking smugly.

Papyrus stands at attention, the tired dread prickling while he tries in vain to ignore it. "Yes?"

"We've extended your campaign to ten more years without furlough. In addition, your next mission will take you to the Thorn Brand, and you will remain stationed there until further notice."

"Yes, Sir." Papyrus salutes coldly. The communication ends, the hologram flickering out. His fists clench as he trembles with a maelstrom of emotions in his bones.

He manages to stay under control as he exits his office into the bridge. His officers glance at him but don't say anything. They all saw the orders sent over from the council. He manages to stay under control as he strides through the halls, passing starmas who take care to avoid getting in his way.

But as soon as he enters the brig, the detachment and the control shatter like vials of toxic acid, raining corrosive shards all through his soul and bones. The mutineers stop talking amongst themselves. A few look ashamed. Most look angry.

"_I SHOULD _**_KEELHAUL_**_ EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!!_" Papyrus bellows, channeling the shitty emotions into anger rather than helpless tears. Most of the mutineers show fear at his outburst. _Good._ He crosses his arms and glowers at each one. "AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ORDER FROM CHANCELLOR ARAKDU IF I HADN'T _LIED_ TO HIM."

"We just wanted a break!" A meryn engineer cries. "The damn council's been riding our asses for five years now, we don't even get _paid_, and we're all sick of this bullshit!"

"I'VE BEEN _TRYING_ TO GET THEM TO GIVE US FURLOUGH." Papyrus says. "AND EVEN _PAY_ US, ALTHOUGH THAT WON'T HAPPEN TILL THE END OF OUR CAMPAIGN, WHICH--THANKS TO YOUR MUTINOUS STUNT--HAS BEEN EXTENDED BY _TEN_ _MORE_ _YEARS_!!"

Nobody can meet his glare as they all realize the gravity of what they've done. "What are you going to do?" The meryn engineer asks bravely.

"We're Being Stationed In The Thorn Brand." He replies. "As Such, You Will Each Only Spend One Month In Here, Except The Ringleader." He scans the group with a scowl. "Whose Idea Was It?"

The meryn raises a hand. "Mine, sir."

"Don't Even Try To Lie To Me." Papyrus retorts tiredly. "I'm Not In The Mood For Bullshit."

"Are you ever?" Someone pipes up, then claps their hands over their mouth with a small "_eep_."

Papyrus glares at them--the insolent adani starma from the slide. "SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME IT WAS THEIR IDEA." He growls.

The mutineers share guilty glances and the insolent starma shrinks in abject terror. "N-no- it wasn't me-"

That's all he needs to hear to know they're lying. His jaws curve in a vicious smile. "IT WAS, WASN'T IT. _WONDERFUL_." They hide behind the meryn engineer. "WHAT'S YOUR NAME??" 

"Their name's Ryuk." Someone else says.

Ryuk yelps, "No, it's not!" Papyrus scowls. Everyone backs away from them. "D-don't kill me!"

"DON'T _TEMPT_ ME!" Papyrus slams a fist on the barrier and they cower. "I COULD KEELHAUL YOU AND ONLY YOU WITHOUT ANY QUALMS. BUT I WILL BE MERCIFUL THIS ONCE. YOU WILL STAY IN HERE FOR THE REMAINDER OF OUR CAMPAIGN."

"You can't lock up the head cook for- _forever_!!" Their insolence angers Papyrus further. "I- uh, I-" They falter at his sharp look.

"YOU'RE FORGETTING YOURSELF, STARMA. THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE ON THIS SHIP WHO CAN _COOK_." He retorts. "FEEL FREE TO EXPLORE EVERY INCH OF THIS BRIG. YOU'RE GOING TO BECOME INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH IT." Then he storms out before they can say anything to piss him off further. 

Esther, the chief of Operations, will have to rearrange schedules and stretch the crew thinner than they already are to make up for the loss of thirty-five starmas. When Papyrus is less tired and angry, he'll deal with Se'Vir on how the security systems failed to notify anyone of the mutiny until it was almost too late. Back on the bridge, he slumps into his chair.

"Sir, we've caught up to the fleet." Jazz says, her normally cheerful voice now peeved and serious.

"Wonderful." He presses the cold leather of his gloved fingers to his aching temples. "If Anybody Asks, The Story Is That We Were Investigating A Possible Fuel Source."

"Yes, sir."

"You should rest, Admiral." Dexi says, floating over to him. Damn Curunir and their empathic traits.

"I'll Sleep Later." He grumbles, too grumpy to be appreciative, yet he can't help but allow a slight sense of fondness for her to creep in. "I Need To Talk To K'Talla."

"She can wait, sir. You need to take care of yourself." Esther pipes up sternly. "I could call the Doctor up here, he'd agree with me."

"I See." Papyrus says tiredly. "So It's Mutiny All Around, Is It?"

"That's right." Dexi glows with a rosy-pink, the equivalent of pride with the curunir. "I appreciate how hard you work for us."

Suzy mutters "kiss-ass," to Esther, who hides her chuckle in her hand. Dexi flickers orange-red for a brief moment.

"I Suppose I Have No Choice, Then." Papyrus sighs and stands up unsteadily. "I will retire to my quarters. Don't disturb me unless it's an emergency." Dexi pats his shoulder again, canceling out the maelstrom with peaceful affection and trust before Papyrus leaves for his quarters.

* * *

Being stuck in the brig would suck if you were all alone. You try to not consider what will happen after everyone else's month is up and they all get to go free while you're stuck in here for years and years, missing out on all the festivals, the gossip, the _matchmaking_. Thankfully, you have your cards with you.

So you draw them out and everyone takes turns playing various games like Dagnir Poker, Float, Bullshit, and Murder. There's cameras in the brig, so Dagnir _strip_ poker is vetoed by literally everyone except you. Hey, you don't mind giving the security guards a show. Nothing wrong with that.

A few of your fellow inmates, mostly the Adani ones, have never played with a Dagnir deck of cards before. _Adani_ Poker is unsophisticated, created after the Dagnir explorer L'Stufou crash-landed on Earth and taught the resident dumbasses a simpler version. _Dagnir_ Poker has sixty-nine cards and it's almost, but not quite, entirely unlike Adani Poker.

You're trying hard to not think about how scarily angry the Admiral was. It's your fault the campaign was extended. It's your fault everyone is in the brig, and you're lucky they're all willing to overlook that in favor of playing cards. You bury the guilt that creeps into your chest every time the ship tremors from what are probably plasma blasts or every time the ship goes on blue alert and the prisoners have to strap into harnesses so the inertia from the wild maneuvers doesn't bash anybody's heads against the hard walls.

A month from the mutiny, the Security Chief, Lieutenant-Commander Se'Vir, comes in and lets everyone out. You try to sneak past, but he catches your arm in a wing-talon and eyes you sternly. "Not you." He says. "You will be staying here, thank Rifli."

"Aww." You slump against the wall. "Pretty please?"

"No." Se'Vir says, his ruff of blue feathers poofing disdainfully. "You're lucky the Admiral doesn't kill."

"I'm going to die of boredom!" 

Se'Vir is a uiloth, who don't really do emotes well, seeing as they're a bunch of parrot-bird-people, so you're impressed when his neatly preened tail-feathers flick in annoyance and his beak clicks angrily. "_Good_." He spins stiffly about. "Do so."

"Fine." You grumble as you slouch to the floor.

He leaves and you're all alone to play card games by yourself. Heh, maybe you can play some strip poker now- oh great, Sans.

The brother of that dick Papyrus taps the wall and grins at you from inside your cell. "wow." He drawls. "you, uh, really fucked up."

"Yeah??" Snapping at him probably isn't the smartest thing you've ever done. "You wanted a distraction, I gave you a distraction!" Your cards glow blue and fly up out of your reach as you jump to grab them. "No, wait!!" Damn his stupid magic!

"heh. you thought i meant _mutiny_?" Sans snatches your deck of cards out of the air, shuffling them.

You leap at him, but crash into the wall as he disappears and reappears on the other side of the wall. "Ow- give them back!!"

"nah." He winks. "i think you need to learn your lesson before you're allowed to have these again."

"Pretty please? That's all I have!" You stole those cards fair and square from an Alliance assassin.

"maybe you should've taken better care of it, then." He pockets your precious cards. "now, i ain't gonna throw you off the ship for this one mistake. i'll even see if i can get Paps to lessen your sentence after a few months or so."

"I knew you wouldn't ice your ol' buddy!" You grin smarmily, then he interrupts you before you can beg for your cards again.

"but the _next_ fuckup might be your last." Sans winks again, his gold tooth glinting in his wide permanent grin. He sure loves winking. "have fun, buddy." And then he's gone.

You slump onto the cold hard floor in despair. Yeah, you're having _so much fun_ right now.

Weeks pass. Maybe months. You're bored to death, only allowed to pace, eat, and shit in the small low-g toilet. Sans pretends to take mercy on you and gives you a book. A book on quantum physics. Fuck him, how are you supposed to understand any of the jargon??

But as the days wear on, you read and reread it, puzzling it out. Next time he visits, you give it back, smirking, and ask for one on wormholes. He chuckles but agrees to find something.

He doesn't return. The ship starts to tremor more often, and you're forced to attach yourself to the harness that only ever pops out of the wall during blue alert. Fear starts to take over as the ship reverberates with the noise of battle. What if the _Liltha _is destroyed? The Thorn Brand is a notorious sector filled with ghost stations and rumors of ships entering but never coming back. The Alliance of Harthad controls the borders, but nobody controls the middle.

This could be it, you realize as the ship never leaves blue alert, as nobody brings your meals, as wild gravity flings you about constantly, as the harness starts to fray, as you fall apart into panic, curling into a ball-

And then it ends. Not in a sudden explosion, but worse. Silence. Complete silence, no shield generator, no engines, no weapon fire, no gravity. Nothing. The brig door slides open, wired to do that when power falls to auxiliary life support so that nobody ever gets trapped. The _Liltha_ has died.

* * *

Inside the _Paen_, the flagship of the Alliance fleet _Merdouille_, a scarred and fearsome mer monster stomps into her bridge, her golden eyes bright above a shark-toothed grin. "_Fuhuhu_, if this is what it takes for a family reunion, I shoulda done this YEARS ago!!"

"Indeed, Queen _Undyne_." A human stands by her throne, a smug grin splitting across his copper cheeks.

"Oh, shut up, Bracken." The Queen shoves him playfully.

Captain Dell, one of those creepy vulture-like Galvorn, steps up. "Ma'am, the _Liltha_ has been acquired."

"Wonderful!" The Queen claps her hands cheerfully. "Now, Bracken, tell me if I'm on point here. '_Hey, punk!! Long time, no see, sorry I killed your crews, but they were weak wimps anyway, and besides, you never cared about them, fuhuhu, signed, QUEEN UNDYNE!_'" She pauses and taps her blue-scaled cheek, the red bracelet on her wrist glowing with her cheer. "Maybe I'll add a few more crazed laughs."

"Golly, you sound just like her." Bracken says, twin emerald pendants dangling from his ears when he shakes his head.

"Dell, check on the prisoners, please. And don't let the hum- eh, the adani escape again." She says. It's hard to adjust to calling Humans _Adani_, perhaps the single hardest thing about being the bestest conqueror in all of space and time.

"Yes, ma'am." Captain Dell salutes with a brown-feathered-arm and walks out.

The Queen giggles. "Bracken, be a dear and pull up the security footage."

Bracken taps a few buttons and a screen comes up, showing the brig. In it, two massive goat monsters-- seriously, why the space-people call monsters _Sedryn_ is beyond the Queen, and it's probably a stupid reason anyway-- sit at opposite walls glaring at anywhere except each other, and a dumpy dinosaur monster sits in the middle and chews at her knuckles. In a separate brig, a human with a fiery red warrior's wolftail repeatedly punches the door while making battlecries of pure rage. The Queen claps her hands. "Hee hee, we almost have everyone!"

"Except-"

"_Fuhu_, we don't need the sack of bolts."

Bracken's face drops in a frown. The Queen smacks his back and cackles maniacally. "Come on!! Evil laugh with me!!"

"Grow up." Bracken mutters.

The Queen freezes and then snaps, "What??"

"I'm helping you, yeah, but that doesn't mean we're cool, okay??" Bracken snarls. "I will _never_ forget what you've done."

"I can change that." The Queen purrs, resting her forehead on Bracken's shoulder and nuzzling his neck. His breath hitches.

"Fr-" He's cut off as the Queen grabs his platinum-blond hair and pulls him into a deep kiss.

She withdraws and pats his chest. "None of that, now." She bats her lashes. "Be good for me and I'll reward you."

Bracken responds by hungrily pressing his lips to hers, wrapping her in his arms till she can barely breathe for the ecstasy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D stay safe, y'all!!


	2. Not A Blight, But A Remedy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good luck.

Voices approach as you start to clamber out of your cell. There's a lot of different languages and dialects on the _Liltha_, but the one growing slowly louder is none of them. It's the Alliance common tongue. Fear sinks into your gut, prickling on your annoyingly smooth skin. The ship's been captured. You've got a chance to survive, though, if you play your cards right. It might be easier if you actually had cards to play, though. Thanks a lot, Sans.

A meryn and a dagnir glide into the brig. "Surrender!" The meryn shouts, drawing their dart gun as their broad reddish-orange scales flare.

"Woah, I'm on your side!" You cry in Alliance common. "Lower the gun!"

"Name." The dagnir's muzzle distorts in a snarl as their grey tail lashes. The fox-like dagnir generally mistrust everybody and stick to themselves, so it's a bit of a surprise to see one working with a meryn.

"T'seq!" You leaked the identity of that Alliance spy to Sans around two years ago. Heh, T'seq lasted maybe fifty seconds in the vacuum of space.

"Oh, you're still alive, huh?" The meryn's narrow muzzle wrinkles with amusement, but she doesn't lower the gun. "So, any intel for us?"

"Well, the Admiral is a dick. And his brother's not much better." You glower. "They locked me up."

"Kal'bun," The dagnir hisses, "We can't trust them."

"Oh, ease up, M'rer, this kid's been in the freezer for, what-"

"About two years." You grin innocently at them, pleading with your eyes.

"Alright." Kal'bun claps her hands together. "Help us carry these two boneheads in here."

"Sure!" You follow them out of the brig to the hall where Papyrus and Sans float unconscious, magisuppressors latched around their necks. The dagnir still stares at you, paranoid.

There's not much you can do for the boneheads, but you can't just let Sans die. So as you grab up Sans effortlessly and carry him back into the brig, your fingers work deftly to deactivate the suppressor. He tenses in your arms as soon as it's turned off. Then he relaxes again. You release him into the cell and go to help with Papyrus.

M'rer struggles to drag the admiral by his legs, obviously unused to working in zero-g. Kal'bun just watches as you grab Papyrus yourself and shove off to the door of the brig. "How'd you even get them down here??" You ask in fake exasperation.

"We had help, but they abandoned us." Kal'bun grumbles, her broad scales hackling in annoyance.

The two just glide behind you as you carry Papyrus into the brig. He's a jerk, true, but even he doesn't deserve this. So you deactivate his collar too as you set him down beside Sans.

Kal'bun slaps your back-- where your wings should be-- with a heavy clawed paw. "Thanks, T'seq. You can watch them, too."

"Dude, I've been in here too long." You complain, sensing a trap. "Can't you, I dunno, send me to the nearest officer for orders?"

Kal'bun's tail curves up. "I'm the nearest officer, and I say you stay here and make sure they don't escape. Me and M'rer have better things to do."

M'rer bares their teeth at you. "I don't trust them."

"There, see?" You really don't want to be around when the Admiral wakes up. "I can't be trusted, so therefore you two should watch these boneheads and let me go help somewhere else, preferably not in a brig of any sort."

Kal'bun huffs with a twinkle in her eyes. "Damn, you're really T'seq."

"Uh, duh." You laugh, trying to get them both off their guard. 

"Which is funny, cause I thought T'seq was a galvorn." Kal'bun crosses her arms, baring her teeth in a smug grin.

"See??" M'rer cries and draws their dart gun. "I was right!"

"I was genetically modified!" You say quickly-- and the funny thing is, you're not exactly lying. "So I look adani, and anyway, I'm actually _dagnir_, not galvorn." The vulture-like galvorn are notoriously horrible spies, whereas dagnir are the go-tos for mercenary covert operatives.

Kal'bun looks delighted and she grabs her own gun. Oops. "HA." She cries. "Dagnir don't mess around with genmods!! If you were actually dagnir, you'd know that!!"

Damn it. You point behind them. "Shit, they're awake!" And you shove off and flee. Darts whiz past you as neither of them fell for the trick, but they can't move as well as you can in zero-g, so you win and easily lose them. You bare your teeth in a triumphant sneer as you leap and glide from wall to wall. In zero-g, it's almost like you're flying.

But then you reach the points of major fights. The bodies of the dead and dying litter the halls, their blood floating in globules or spattered across the mural-decorated walls. Sick horror burns your throat with bile. You need to escape. You can't stay here or you'll die too.

In the hangar, where all the runabouts are kept, you sneak into one and buckle yourself in the helm, a vise around your mind as your eyes and chest burn. Your claws- _fingernails_ absently scratch at the irritatingly smooth scaleless skin on your arms. There's no way you'll survive if you stay here and try to fight. _Heroes only ever die, and you can't_. It's not like a powerless _coward_ like you would make a difference anyway.

You could try to join the Alliance. They'd take you. It might be easier to stay hidden from your mother that way, too. All your friends are dead, there's literally nobody who would care if you betrayed the Republic. Ignore the growing guilt that weighs on you--_this is all your fault_.

But you're startled out of your regrets when someone shouts in your ear, "Y-yo, hands up!"

@@@@

Doctor MK is having a pretty bad day. Three of his nurses died in the fighting. Several of his patients were killed or captured. And he tried to perform triage, but he was finally forced to flee and hide on a runabout. He can't abide the thought of leaving his comrades, so he doesn't turn it on, he just huddles in the corner and hopes nobody looks inside.

Thankfully, the first person to do so turns out to be one of the _Liltha_'s officers, the science officer Commander Luon, who slithers in and curls beside MK. Luon's race, amlyg, is a snake-like species and has innate self-gravitational control, like a few sedryn. "Want a chocolate, Doctor?" The amlyg offers him an adani delicacy.

"Y-yo, what are we supposed to do??" MK hates how scared and small his voice sounds, just like when he was a child and the kids were shoving him around for being _broken_.

"Hide, I suppose." Luon says. "Which we both seem to be doing. And then when it all dies down, maybe we can organize a resistance force to retake the ship. Eat the chocolate, Doctor, it will help."

MK obeys. He's gotten accustomed to having a glamour that gives him arms. The chocolate fizzles in his mouth and dissipates somewhere down his throat. It's not just adani chocolate, it's a sedryn recipe. "Thanks." MK mutters, despondent. He plays with the orange crystal pendant around his neck, which glows softly.

"_Kh_, you can owe me a favor later." Luon laughs softly. "When we survive this."

"If we survive."

"When." Luon repeats, his certainty echoing in MK's soul. The amlyg rises and sniffs about the runabout for weapons, the rough scales of his tail clicking on the textured metal floor. MK scowls when Luon hands him a dart gun and a tase-dagger. "Use it if you need to."

"Fine." MK sets the potency levels of the darts to two, enough to knock someone out without killing them. "Don't we have any saints?"

Luon shakes his head. "Not that I could find."

"Oh." MK sighs. The saint, or magnetic restraint, shoots a sphere that explodes into an electromagnetic web and captures the target without harming them. MK would prefer to not kill anybody.

The runabout hatch swings open, letting in shafts from the yellow emergency lights as a figure glides inside. They sit in the helm, but they don't turn anything on. Luon's muzzle parts as he senses the air, his fangs slipping from their sheathes. MK thinks he knows who this person is though, so he leaps up silently and points the dart gun at their neck. "Y-yo, hands up!" He says it a bit louder than he meant to.

They yelp and spin around. "O-oh, Mil-Gwedh, it's you." They let out a shuddering sigh.

"Ryuk!" MK cries and hugs them. "Yo, how'd you escape?? There's Alliance troops everywhere!"

"I, uh, took the ants' nest." They say, referring to the network of maintenance tunnels and passages running through the ship.

"Oh, Ryuk, this is Commander Luon." MK introduces the two.

"Heh- uh, MK-"

"He's going to help us get a resistance force together! We'll find other survivors, we'll find Papyrus and his creepy brother, and we'll take the ship back!!" MK cries, excited now that he knows at least one friend is safe. "And then, Ryuk, you will get a physical! No more escaping it!"

"Eh." Ryuk says sheepishly. "Uh. The thing is-"

"What?"

"Yeah, I may have kinda left the admiral and Sans in enemy hands. Unconscious." They mumble, not meeting MK's glare. "Look, I couldn't do anything! I'm just- I need to get out of here. Never look back. Want to come with?" They give him a nervous grin.

MK trembles as the burning fury in his soul tries to bleed out his eyes. "Y-you idiot!!" He wails, shaking Ryuk. "Yo, all my friends are _dead!!_ Or- or captured!! I can't just _run away_!! And you left _Papyrus_ with the _enemy_?? You- _You- Fuck you!!_" His orange pendant glows violently bright with the force of his anger.

"Dude, chill." Ryuk says uncomfortably. MK sniffles, trying to glare past watery vision. "I'm sorry, okay? But there's nothing we can do."

"We're not running." Luon says, setting a comforting clawed hand on MK's shoulder. "We're going to rescue the Admiral and his brother. And you're going to help us."

Ryuk looks away guiltily. "Fine. They're in the brig."

"Great, yo." MK says. "Now, you're going to go to the bridge and cause a distraction while the commander hacks into the coms system and contacts the fleet."

"And you?" Luon asks.

MK clenches his fists. "I'm going down to the brig to rescue my friends."

@@@@

Upon gaining awareness, Papyrus peeks open an eye to check for enemies. There's two Alliance soldiers clinging to the wall as they frantically try to figure out how to activate the cell door. The ship's rings have stopped spinning, so life support is on auxiliary, which means the doors will continue to refuse to close.

There's a suppression collar around his neck, blocking access to his magic. He slowly twists in the air. Without his gravity manipulation, even physical combat has been rendered ineffective by the zero-g environment. And Sans isn't beside him, which means either they separated the brothers, or-

"ya look frustrated."

-that he's already escaped and now has the two guards at blaster-point. Papyrus tries to detach the collar, but receives a zap for his efforts. The pain releases some of the tension, so he zaps himself again absent-mindedly. "SANS, STOP TAUNTING THEM AND FREE ME ALREADY."

"sure, boss." Sans replies and saunters over to Papyrus, leaving his blaster to threaten the guards. "ya can thank the kid later."

"What Kid?? Why Should I Thank Anyone??"

"the kid who deactivated these." Sans says, twisting the collar open. "i got free before the guards could turn mine on again."

Papyrus scowls and knocks out the two guards with a single bone attack. "Wonderful." He grumbles, hoping Sans doesn't mean Ryuk. He'd hate to be in that insolent fool's debt. But it doesn't matter since it won't last for long. He lost a battle. Frisk can fix this, but first Papyrus has to ensure that she hears about his death from this remote sector. "Come on, we need to retake the ship."

"uh, bro, don't you think it's kinda weird that they took us to _our_ brig instead of, i dunno, to another ship?"

Papyrus scratches at his chin, glaring down at the two floating bodies and trying to ignore the sharp pain that the simple endearment _bro_ inflicted. "Good point, Sans. But we have bigger things to worry about, like rescuing my goddamn fleet! Come on."

"okay, boss."

Deep in the ants' nest of the _Liltha_, Papyrus stands guard while Sans hacks into the subroutines. The ship's automatic internal defense systems have been offline ever since that battle three years ago when a traitor let in enemies who stripped the system. Papyrus never managed to get enough time free to be able to go to a repair station to bring them online again.

"okay, bro, i think i can regain control of the helm, but i'm gonna need to get the engines online first." Sans heaves a sigh, completely missing Papyrus's flinch at the innocent term of affection. "this would be easier if i had help."

Papyrus carefully doesn't snap at his brother, despite the desperate anger and fogs of shittiness boiling in his ribs. Sans would just snap back, and Papyrus really doesn't want to start another fight he knows he can't win. "Stay behind me." He grunts. The nearest engine is in the next ring out, so they'll have to go through a slide. 

Sans pats his arm as they pass the major battle points with all the dead bodies floating about. "it's gonna be okay, bro."

"O-Of Course It Will Be!!" Papyrus retorts, resisting the vise of weakness trying to clench around his soul. He doesn't know what's wrong with him. He's always worked hard to be strong, but he's- he's _never good enough_. "Th-The Great And Terrible Papyrus Would Never Allow His People To Die!!"

The intercom crackles overhead. *_A note to the Survivors_,* A heavily distorted voice speaks in a remote dialect of amlyg, a language the Alliance wouldn't know but the Dragonfly fleet regularly uses in graffitied wordplay and poetry. *_Engine Coulson secured. Please report._*

Papyrus flicks open his com and sends the signal to the referred engine room. "_Script and Joker on their way_." He says in the same dialect, using the code-names Sans made up a long time ago. Sans chuckles.

When they reach the engine room, there's more survivors. Commander Luon slithers down from the catwalks and salutes. "Sir! Doctor MK went to rescue you, did you see him?"

"nope," Sans replies. "Paps, go sit down in the corner."

"Why Are You Giving Me Orders??" Papyrus snaps past the freezing hot fog in his bones.

Sans stares down the younger sibling. "because you're panicking, bro. go sit down and drink some water."

Papyrus grumbles, "I Told You To Call Me _Boss,_" but he obeys when Sans gives him a sharp glare, not in the mood to fight. As he lays back against the wall and closes his sockets, he listens to Sans talking to Luon.

"alright, do you have contact with the doctor?"

"No, sir, I lost him a few minutes ago."

"where was he?"

"I thought he was in the brig helping you. And the starma who was with us was supposed to be causing a distraction on the bridge, but I haven't heard from them."

"really. alright, i'll see if i can find the doctor."

Papyrus wants to protest, but he can't speak or move, drowning in waves of painful emotion and crashing thoughts. This can all be fixed. He can get his people back. He just needs to wait a bit longer till Sans can contact Frisk.

@@@@

As you approach the bridge through the ants' nest, MK reports his status every so often in a terse voice devoid of his usual kind cheer. You stay quiet, not wanting to alert any nearby enemies or anger him further. "I found the brig- huh, that's weird-" His voice cuts off abruptly. You glide into the Admiral's office, which is thankfully empty.

"MK?" You call cautiously over the com. "MK, you okay?" You don't know Luon's extension, so you can't ask Luon if MK made it back safely. Which, now that you think about it, was really dumb of you to not prepare for.

"Why, prettiful, who is this??" Someone you don't recognize purrs over the link.

"N-nobody!" You yelp.

"Alright, _nobody_. I've got MK and I'm holding him hostage. If the boneheads give themselves up, I'll free him." They sound like an adani woman.

Shit- Sans and Papyrus must have gotten loose. And now MK's been captured. "I don't know where they are." You answer.

"Tell them _Undyne_ wants to speak to them on the bridge. Just them and me. Nobody else, or your friend gets _dusted_."

"Don't hurt him!!" You cry.

"Hee hee, oh, I won't. Yet. Here, I'll even let you speak to him." Her voice disappears and tears sting your eyes as you hear MK's sobs.

"MK!"

"Yo- warn them!" MK says desperately. "It's not Un-"

"Okay, that's enough." The woman's voice cuts off MK. "Hee hee, naughty hostages need punishing. Ooo, what's this pretty necklace? I think I'll take it. Now, MK's friend, go fetch the boneheads, say _exactly_ what I told you, or MK's _glamour_ isn't the only thing I'm going to crush."

The link cuts off. You curl helplessly in the air. MK needs you. But you can't move.

Clenching your fists, you clamber unsteadily to the admiral's desk and turn on the intra-ship com link. "Uh-" Your choked-up voice echoes outside the room. "MK has- has been captured by some bitch calling herself Undyne! She says she'll let him go if Sans and that _asshole_ Papyrus come up to the bridge alone- eh, her words, not mine."

Then you turn it off. And you slink back into the ants' nest. As you flee back to the hangar, you ignore the deeply buried part inside you that demands you turn back and rescue MK. There's nothing you can do. Sans has a few tricks up his sleeve, you know, and if Papyrus is indeed the stronger one like Sans always boasts, then you're sure the two together can take this _not-Undyne_ person.

So you sneak back into the hangar and buckle yourself into the closest runabout, blocking out the screaming in your chest. Powering it on, you stare at the controls for a moment before gritting your teeth and grabbing them. You've never flown a runabout before, but you know the general theory, so it should be a cinch.

Snapping outside makes you flinch as the runabout bucks and breaks free of the mooring locks, which you forgot to detach. The airlock blares in warning as it opens. The runabout scrapes along the hangar floor and bumps into other ships as you try to get the nose up.

As you get free of the ship, you refuse to look back. You refuse to turn back. The guilt in your soul nearly overwhelms you. But you're just a _coward_. You can't save anyone.

With a loud _crack_, the runabout jerks to a halt and starts being dragged away by the grapple to an Alliance ship. You stare at your oncoming doom, fearful even as the whispers in the back of your mind say you deserve this. 

The runabout is hauled into the hangar and the hatch opens as two Alliance soldiers clomp inside. "Whew, stinks like the Republic shat all over it!" One laughs.

"Not now, Dur'kal." The other sighs. "Looks like this's a decoy. Check the other crafts."

They leave. You drop down lightly out of the single maintenance tunnel, thankful they didn't think to scan it, and sneak out into the hangar. The ship has to have an ants' nest grate somewhere, so you search around the edges of the hangar for an opening. Upon finding one, you drop inside and crawl away.

You sneak through the maze of maintenance tunnels for a while, searching for the mess hall. But the tunnel you find yourself in finally leads you to a dim room with three sedryn inside a cell. The brig is the _last_ place you want to be. These guys could help you if you free them, though. Sedryn are known for loyalty, yes, but mostly for their powerful magic. You wince at a thought that creeps in; they won't help you if they find out you abandoned your ship.

Sneak inside the brig. There are no guards. The cute dinosaur sedryn looks up from wringing her dirty lab coat and she adjusts her glasses. "Wh-who are you?"

"Shh." You hiss, glancing to the door nervously. "I'm here to get you out."

The dinosaur nods. "Th-the code is _fishsticks_. All lower-case, no numbers."

"Really??"

"Heh, uh, I know, it's- it's a really dumb password." She giggles.

You put in the password on the console and the door opens. The dinosaur limps out, but the two goat-lions stay inside, glowering at each other. "You first, Toriel." The bigger one says.

"No, you, I insist, Asgore." The other replies coldly.

"L-leave them." The dinosaur says, peeved. "Th-they won't stop ar-arguing."

Shouts sound from down the corridor. You glance up and see a camera pointed right at you. Shit. "In here!" You slip back into the ants' nest and your new friend follows you.

"F-follow me." She takes the lead. "I know this model."

"I'm Ryuk."

"Alphys." She giggles again. "H-help me find Undyne."

You shrug, having literally no choice in the matter. "She's probably in a different ship, but I dunno where the runabouts are. " 

"Y-yes, yes, c-come on." She grumbles and leads you back to the hangar. You hope she's a better pilot.

In the chosen runabout, outside the ship, you cling to your seat for dear life as she proves to be rather _too_ good. "Uh-h, Alphys, slow down! Please! I'm too cute to die!!" You wail. Alphys laughs maniacally at you, so you sulk and glare out the viewport. She mutters under her breath delightedly, _creepily_. A bright distorted whirlpool catches your eyes as it forms in space past the groups of drifting starships. "Wait, what's that?"

Alphys giggles when you point it out. "Th-that's a wormhole. They form often in the Thorn Brand. I- I was studying them, until _somebody_ kn-knocked me out and I woke up in- in the brig."

"Heh." You let out an anxious laugh. "Hope it doesn't swallow anyone."

"Oh, it won't." Alphys assures you with a weirdly disappointed tone as she flies stalwartly towards another Alliance ship. "They usually stay small unless they manage to gain enough m-mass."

The wormhole hits an enormous asteroid and vanishes. You let out a sigh of relief, but then choke as the asteroid crumbles, sucked into the growing wormhole's maw. "Al-Alphys!!" You wail.

Alphys sees it and banks away in a move that yanks you against the seat's harness. The wormhole grows exponentially, but the runabout's flight is faster. As the phenomenon reaches the outlying ships, they're all sucked into it. It then reaches the _Liltha- _and your home of five years vanishes. Gone. Just like that. Despair washes over you. "_UNDYNE_, _NO_!!" Alphys screams and spins the ship around. You yelp in horror and try to snatch the controls away as she steers the runabout directly into the maelstrom, following behind the last ship. But you're too late.

Brilliant light strobes all around, ignoring physics and going straight through the opaque metal. You scream and curl into a ball, closing your eyes in a futile attempt to block out the sickening flashes. Alphys wails in terror and clings to you as gravity tosses you about, ripping the seat harnesses to shreds, ripping the engines apart in deafening blasts, tearing you to pieces as you hold onto Alphys like your life depends on her.

And then it ends and the runabout shudders as it drifts through a sea of asteroids and starships, all tossed and tumbled about like some space whale was trying to make a mixed-green salad.

Uncurling from where you were huddled with Alphys, you stare out the viewport at the salad of asteroids and ships. Nausea rises in your throat as the runabout spins madly through the field. Alphys rushes to the controls to steady the craft. The stars' positions aren't familiar; their light shines coldly, impersonal and almost ominous.

Alphys mutters to herself as she weaves through the asteroids. You collapse in your seat from the inertia. She says something to you. Without a chance to properly process what she's saying, you go blank, stunned. Alphys's words sink in. _Andromeda_. You're in another _galaxy_. Your limbs go limp and liquid, fog and lead in your veins as you deny reality.

Reality refuses. It remains. "M-my mom is gonna kill me. _Again_." You giggle hysterically as the realization slowly dawns that _she can't hurt you_, not here.

"Th-that's really not the problem here." Alphys snaps.

"S-sorry." You pull yourself together and point to a random Alliance ship. "Still looking for Undies, right? Try this one."

"Hehe." She bursts into laughter, as crazed as you feel. "Oh my _god_. Undies. She's heard that _so many fucking time_s_, _she hates it!!"

"Heh, haha, great, I'll piss her off. I'm good at that." You laugh wildly. 

Fear doesn't conquer you, for once in your life. Freeing hope lifts your spirits. Mom can't find you here. She can't control you. Alphys grabs your hand and digs her claws into your skin. _Skin_. You hate adani skin, heh. It's so smooth and textureless. You want scales. You should have scales. Mom always mocked you for pretending to be a dragon, but you are, you have to be, you hate being- _human_.

"This- is totally radical." You mutter. Alphys gives you a sharp look. "No, really, think about it. We're explorers to a whole new _galaxy_! We'll meet new aliens, we'll explore new worlds!! We'll- oh shit."

The ship Alphys has been approaching fires a grappling hook at the small runabout. Alphys hugs you in fright as you're both dragged into the hangar. "God, I hope you were right about this one." She grumbles.

You pat her head, faking confidence. "Let me do the talking. I'll get you to your Undies. And then you're gonna _wear_ that babe~."

"Oh gods, you're awful." Alphys groans, but she's smiling as she murmurs something else, so it was worth the horrible mental image your own words produced.

The Alliance soldiers open the hatch. "Hands up!!" A dagnir calls.

"It- uh- it's just me, Ensign Dur'kal! I captured a prisoner!" You cry. Alphys glares at you as you clamp her muzzle closed before she can give you away.

The two fox-like dagnir soldiers step inside, pointing their dart-guns at you and Alphys. "Ensign, you can report to Captain Ross. Good work." One says and pats your shoulder as they latch a restraint around Alphys's wrists.

You stride out of the runabout, leaving Alphys to be taken to the brig while you skip up to the bridge. This ship is a similar model to the _Liltha_, probably captured from a Republic fleet. When you reach the bridge, you act like you're supposed to be here, striding to the operations console and trying to resist the frigid atmosphere. The captain must like it cold. "Hey, I'm here to relieve you." You tell the person already there. "Go take a break."

"Finally." The miriel meows, flicking her fluffy angora tail. She licks your nose with her rough tongue in greeting and then sashays away. The cat-like miriels are so adorable. You sit down in the console and work quickly to bring up the brig cams. Alphys hasn't reached it yet, but there's an adani inside punching the door. Alphys is thrown into the brig. Great, Undies isn't in this ship.

The guards leave. That's when you make your move. You unlock the brig as the adani throws another punch, and the door swings wide open. The two run into the ants' nest. The alarm doesn't sound.

You stand up casually and yawn, shivering from the cold air flow, then start to walk for the exit. A meryn stops you, her broad brown-grey scales hackling as she frowns at you. "You."

"Y-yes?" You grin nervously at her.

"Ensign Dur'kal, correct?"

"Yes!" You say, eager to get away before your ruse is found out.

"I need more hands in the cargo bay. Go down there and help out."

"O-okay." You stride out of the bridge as fast as you dare.

Alphys won't wait for you. There's no place for you back on the _Liltha_. So you go to the cargo bay and you pitch in with the others. You stowed away once and survived five years, you can totally do this again.

@@@@

Alphys drives the runabout as the hot adani woman paces back and forth in the back, ranting. "That _bitch_ fucking stole my face!!"

"Yes, honey." Alphys giggles. The glamours she invented work better than she thought they would.

She scratches at her muzzle and winces as something in her inventory explodes. It's a intradimensional purse, basically, but she can fit just about anything in it, from her mew mew figurines--which are shattering rapidly--to an entire angry android. "Metz, so help me." She grumbles under her breath. The last mew mew figurine explodes.

"What's that, Al?" Undyne-in-human-form asks.

"N-nothing, sweetie." Alphys purrs, wishing she could _take_ her waifu right here. That would teach her son a lesson. "Wh-what's your name?"

"UGH!!" Undyne cries. "Don't you recognize me, Al?? I'm your wife, Undyne!!"

"Hehe," Alphys giggles. "That can't be. Undyne betrayed me and threw me, her one true love, into the brig."

Undyne scowls. "Fuck you, Alphys, you wouldn't know the real me if I _ate_ you!"

"Ohh, is- is that a challenge?" Alphys simpers. Trapped in her inventory, Mettaton gasps in horror. "B-because I'm pretty sure the _real_ Undyne _loves_ challenges."

"FUHUHU, FUCK YEAH!!" Undyne bellows. "You're gonna be in heaven, babe!!"

"Oh, I don't know." Alphys says with a wicked smirk. "The _real_ Undyne would throw me in _hell_ if I had sex with an _imposter_."

Undyne growls. "Alphys, you didn't have sex with the fake Undyne, did you??"

"I d-don't know how that's any of your b-business." Alphys says innocently. Mettaton's pained groans go unheard by Undyne, who glowers with a furious grin.

"Come here, babe."

"Take the glamour off and I will." Alphys purrs, taking mercy on her waifu.

Undyne staggers back, shocked. "What?? You believe me?? But- I can't take it off, Frisk told me it would-"

"It won't explode your head, babe." Alphys says. "Now, there's a nice private room in the back, I'll just put this on autopilot while you wait for me."

Undyne nods, dazed, and slips the yellow crystal bracelet off her wrist, turning back into her lovely blue-skinned golden-eyed shark-toothed self. Then she cackles. "Fuhuhu, you knew the whole fucking time??"

"Yes, dear." Alphys smirks.

"Oh, you're _so_ paying for this!!" Undyne cries and skips into the back room. Alphys sighs and lets Mettaton out.

"Da-a-a-rling~" Mettaton whirrs angrily, falling in a heap on the floor. "You-ou could have ki-i-illed me!"

"I c-could have, y-yes." Alphys agrees with a smile. "B-but I haven't. _Yet_. N-now be a- a g-good boy and drive the- the craft to the L-_Liltha_."

"Fi-i-ine." Mettaton pouts, his glitchy voice processor sparking in his shiny metal neck. "Go-o-o-o have fu-un withou-out me."

Alphys strokes the cold plates of his chest. "I will, Metz. I so _totally_ will." Then she swaggers out of the cockpit and into the room where her Undyne waits. She'll have to get Mettaton back into her inventory afterwards, which will be a pain, but it's totally worth it to have Undyne's ripped body pliant and writhing beneath her as the warrior queen begs her princess for mercy.


	3. Deep Inside Your Memory

As soon as Papyrus hears Ryuk's voice across the speakers relaying the message from MK's captor, he stands up and stomps over to Sans, grabbing the elder brother's arm. "SANS, GET US TO THE BRIDGE, NOW!" He barks, angered worry making it hard to control his voice.

"okay." In a flash of black, the two are in the spherical bridge.

Papyrus glares at Undyne. "THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU??" He demands. Sans pulls at his arm, hissing for his attention. "NOT NOW, SANS, I HAVE A FISH TO FRY."

"Fuhuhu!!" Undyne laughs delightedly, lounging on Papyrus's chair. "You think it's gonna be that easy, huh? You're so cute, _punk_."

Rage claws at his ribs. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DOCTOR."

"They're fine." She waves a hand carelessly, the red crystals around her wrist glowing with her smug confidence. _Glamour_. "But you two better come quietly, hee hee, or they _won't_ be."

Something's off about her voice and actions. "I DON'T THINK SO. YOU SEE, I DON'T BELIEVE THE UNDYNE I KNEW WOULD DO THIS."

"Ugh, just _fucking_ come with me already." The imposter in Undyne's skin groans and poses dramatically. "_GOD_, it's like herding cats with you morons!!" They narrow both golden eyes.

Papyrus's talwar is in his hands with a mere thought and he leaps for them, slashing down as they shriek and roll away. "Oh, you're going to regret that!" They cry and produce a dagger from thin air. Papyrus nearly freezes at the familiar weapon he created for-

"bro, look out!" Sans shouts.

"LET ME HANDLE THIS, SANS!!" Papyrus retorts irritably as he dodges a slash of the dagger. "AND HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO CALL ME _BOSS_!!"

The imposter charges again, her style all too familiar as Papyrus deflects the blade and twists it out of her hand. She backs away and scrambles to get it back, but he slashes his talwar across her hand.

The crystal bracelet falls to the floor with a dribble of blood as a gash opens on her wrist. She grips the wounded hand and howls, her form flickering to that of an adani. "_HUMAN_." Papyrus growls, snow floating around him in the frozen air.

Sans grabs his arm and he's thrust back into his bridge, facing the familiar woman, whose eyes fill with tears. "Owie!!" She wails. "You hurt me!!"

"HELLO, FRISK." Papyrus returns his talwar to his inventory and crosses his arms, fury raging in his bones from the betrayal.

She squeaks, "H-hi! I- hee hee, I can explain!!"

"OH. SO YOU CAN _EXPLAIN_ WHY YOU _KILLED_ MY CREWS, _DESTROYED_ MY SHIPS, AND _POSED AS MY FRIEND _TO BETRAY ME AND SANS?? _WONDERFUL_. I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT." He grabs Frisk by the nape of her neck and drags her to the coms console. "Call Off Your Fleet!"

"Okay, okay!" Frisk yelps as he glares at her. "Contact the _Paen_, that's my flagship. And heal my hand!!" She offers her bloody wrist imperiously. So Papyrus rips the sleeve of her shirt off. She gasps angrily as he uses the cloth to bind the wound. "Hey!!"

"I Don't Waste Magic On Worthless Traitors." He growls.

She pouts. "Technically, you betrayed me first."

"I DID NOT!!" He cries. "_DUMPING_ YOU WAS _HARDLY_ A BETRAYAL!! IS _THAT_ WHY YOU DID THIS?!" Wowie, talk about creepy. What's that word Undyne would use? _Yandere_?

"I could change a few things so you_ don't_ dump me, your most wonderfulest girlfriend ever~" Frisk singsongs. The only reason he even dated her in the first place was to pursue a romance with the intriguing Chara, and Frisk told him she deleted the ghost from her mind.

Papyrus glowers at her, hiding hope that he can still get her to reset and fix this. "JUST TRY, I DARE YOU."

Frisk closes her eyes and concentrates. "Mmmm. Reset. True Reset. Uhhh." She frowns. "Oops."

"_bro_!" Sans catches Papyrus's attention with the endearment that causes painful spikes in his soul. 

"_WHAT_??" Papyrus snarls.

Sans points at the light-show surrounding the bridge. Papyrus gags at the sickening kaleidoscope of colors. "wormhole, bro. you're gettin' distracted."

"I'M FINE, BUT WHY THE FUCK ARE WE IN A WORMHOLE??" He snaps as his vision tunnels with nauseous dizziness.

"Dunno!" Frisk says cheerfully. "This is fun!!"

"IF YOU'RE GOING TO RESET, DO IT, AND SPARE US ALL THIS FOOLISHNESS." Papyrus snaps. The lights outside fade and he steadies Frisk as the Liltha spins wildly, flung into a sea of asteroids. "SANS, FIRE UP THE ENGINES BEFORE WE CRASH."

"you got it." Sans saunters over to the helm. The starship steadies.

"ALRIGHT. NOW RESET." Papyrus orders, desperate for a way to get his starmas back, his ships, maybe even victory over the Alliance.

Frisk bites her lip sheepishly. "Uh, reset. Hee hee, actually, why should I?" Freezing numbness creeps up Papyrus's spine.

"she can't, bro." Sans says, almost gently.

Papyrus winces, growling the correction, "_Boss_."

Sans ignores him. "can ya, buddy. yer a fish flopping outta water here, ain't ya." Before Papyrus can demand an explanation, Sans provides it. "congrats, pal. you got us stuck in a different galaxy."

"WHAT??" Papyrus snarls and storms over to the navigation console, which busies itself calculating the distance to the Thorn Brand. It shorts out, saying the distance is too great to be configured.

"yup. if i had to guess, i'd say andromeda, but i'd have to check my star charts to be sure."

Papyrus realizes distantly that Sans is acting detached and nonchalant about it so that the younger doesn't freak out. He appreciates the attempt, but it doesn't exactly work.

"This is great!! Now we're all together!! My mom and dad--Toriel and Asgore--my sister Alphys, my aunt Undyne, my uncle Sans, and my husbands--Papyrus and Asriel!!" Frisk counts them off and then cheers.

Her words hits him like one last piece of shrapnel after an entire ship has exploded. And multiple of his ships have done just that. And now there's _no fucking way_ to _fix it_. Papyrus snaps. He spins and roars at her, "**_JUST WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE??_**" The violent power in his soul begs to be unleashed, forming illusory bullet patterns that surround the guilty crimson soul with deadly intent.

Frisk stares at him with innocent eyes, not sensing the peril she's in. "I'm the hero, dummy."

Papyrus's jaws stretch in a mad grin. "WRONG ANSWER." He snarls and injects the illusions with his magic. She screams as the jagged bullets come to life and tear through her soul. He halts the damage when she's at one hit point and she collapses, unconscious, to the ground. She deserves to die for all the destruction she's rained on his people, for the betrayal she inflicted on him. But Papyrus refuses to blacken his soul with her EXP.

His sockets sting with furious tears as he turns away from the Dreemurrs' _savior_. She was never their friend. But he and Sans are the only ones who ever knew that. The family she forced them to be in fell apart over the years, despite Frisk's constant save-scumming. He thought she'd given up. Turns out she was only ever biding her time. And now she's gone and captured her _family_ and got them stuck in a whole different _galaxy_ and his _people_ are _dead _or_ dying._

"Sans." He says, suddenly tired. "Put her in the brig and find Dexi."

"sure, bro." Sans says.

Papyrus flinches. "_Boss_." He corrects again. "I'm going to need your ambassadorial skills, lazybones, so don't let me catch you napping."

"no problem, boss."

"And that doesn't mean take a nap somewhere where I can't find you, either." Papyrus tries to glare past blurry vision. "I know your tricks, scoundrel."

"yep, boss, that's me, scoundrelly sans." Sans takes one of Papyrus's gloved hands and rubs circles on the back. "deep breaths, boss. it's gonna be alright. i'm here. i'm okay. we're going to be okay."

"I Know." Papyrus says tersely, unable to say what he knows he should: _thank you_.

"go sit down."

"I'm Fine, Sans." Papyrus growls, hating the weakness in his ribs and the vise around his skull that bely his own words. His starmas and officers have been massacred. All for what? To get a family reunion for a madwoman??

Sans winks. "yeah, but i ain't. let me worry about ya, okay?"

Papyrus sighs. "Very Well, I Will Sit Down If It Will Ease Your Worry."

As soon as Sans leaves, Papyrus stands up again and goes back to the coms console. First things first, he contacts the _Paen_. The captain, a vulture-form galvorn named Dell, agrees to a cease-fire and exchange of aid. Papyrus has to make sure MK is alright, as well, but he delegates that to Luon. When Sans returns, Papyrus drops back into his chair and pretends he never moved.

"okay, boss, dexi's on her way." Sans says.

"Wonderful. Let's get to work."

A few hours later, as Dexi is relaying organizational orders fleet-wide, the _real_ Undyne storms onto the bridge, followed by Alphys. "Where's that bitch who stole my face??"

Papyrus feels like he could cry. "UNDYNE!!" He wails and hugs her. She supplexes him into the ground and then drags him up into a headlock to noogie his skull.

"FUHUHU, PUNK!! Didja miss me??"

"D-DON'T NOOGIE THE SKELETON!!" He complains. She lets him up and he rubs his burning skull ruefully. "But Yes, I Did."

"Great, where's the gym at?? Me an' you are sparring for command of these fleets!!"

"NYEH HEH HEH!!" Papyrus cackles gleefully. "NOT TODAY, UNDYNE, NOT TODAY!! ANOTHER DAY, PERHAPS. YOU SEEM TIRED, I WOULDN'T WANT TO WIN BECAUSE YOU FELL ASLEEP ON YOUR SPEAR."

"C-can you _not_ shout at my wife." Alphys growls.

"I'm Not Shouting." He retorts, but lowers his excitable volume anyway.

"It's fine, Paps," Undyne grins. "We're fine."

"We're Not, Actually. Hasn't Alphys Told You??"

"No, what?"

"We're in another galaxy." He growls, not adding '_and Frisk led your fleet in a massacre of my people_'. She'll find out soon anyway.

Undyne's jaw drops. "WHAT THE FUCK, ALPHYS!!" She screams.

Alphys winces. "Uh- I- I was g-going to tell you!"

"When??"

"L-later."

"UGH!!" Undyne shrieks and grabs Papyrus. "You're my new wife now!!" An odd euphoria blooms in Papyrus's soul at her words. He shakes his head to rid himself of it, confused. He doesn't like Undyne like that, she's his friend. He might prefer Dexi to call him her wife, actually, now that he considers it. He blushes at that thought.

Alphys gasps in shock. "B-but Undyne!"

"You got a bone to pick with me, Alphys??" Undyne snarls, getting Papyrus in a headlock. "Papy, my wonderful waifu, kiss me!"

Papyrus smirks and pecks her cheek obediently. "YES, MY LOVELY LESBIAN LOVER?"

She scowls at him and lets go. "Forget it, you're mocking me."

It's nice to have her back. Papyrus just wishes they were back in the Milky Way so Frisk could fix everything.

* * *

MK struggles against the restraints around his feet. The Undyne-imposter destroyed his glamour, so now he's _useless_. Tears drip down his muzzle as he tries to not look at the bodies floating around him. Papyrus's voice reverberates through the hall from the intercom. *_We are in a cease-fire with the Alliance. All able survivors are to regroup in the mess hall for further orders. Commander Luon, find Doctor MK._* MK sobs hopelessly into the gag stuffed in his cheeks. Nobody will find him in _this_ body- this body that can't do anything.

"Oh, there you are, doctor." Luon slithers from an ants' nest grate. As usual, the amlyg doesn't look directly at MK, his muzzle open to smell the air. "I was worried." He weaves carefully through the maze of bodies, somehow seeming unaffected by the proximity of death.

As soon as MK's gag is out and his restraints are off, he struggles to his feet with his tail. "Thanks, yo." He mutters, then grabs an injured starma's shirt with his teeth, dragging them away from the other bodies. Luon sees what he's doing and so helps him separate the injured from the dead. The amlyg never comments on the doctor's handicap as MK tersely gives orders and Luon follows them to stabilize the starmas' conditions. Later, the other surviving starmas assist with the triage and clean-up.

Out of the four-hundred-and-twenty-two people originally on the _Liltha_ before the fateful battle in the Thorn Brand, one-hundred-and-seventy-nine have died and only fourteen escaped without any injury. The dead bodies will be recycled for water and fuel, as everything is in space. Their personal effects will be sorted and auctioned off in funerals which combine the different cultural traditions into a hodge-podge of ceremonies and foods. The survivors have to move on, no matter how hard it is. But MK can't do anything to help anyone.

Stripping the dead ships will take even more time. There's only three ships from the Dragonfly fleet in working order, while the Alliance fleet has eleven still operable out of their original fifty-two. MK remains in the sick bay, tersely ordering his nurses around with barely restrained frustration. Frisk sends messages begging him to heal her hand, but he refuses to even go to the brig to look at her, much less waste magic on the one who handicapped him once again.

Luon visits him nightly to bring him food from the funerals. MK doesn't touch the food, and Luon somehow never notices. Until a few nights have passed like that and the amlyg opens his muzzle and unsheathes his fangs to sniff the air. "Have you been eating, Doctor?"

"I can't." MK replies dully. Without his glamour- MK stifles tears. He used to have a way to cope, long ago, after the king cut off his arms to punish his parents for leading a rebellion. But it's been so long since he used any magic. He's fallen out of practice.

"Why not?" Luon asks.

MK snaps, "Yo, can't you _see_?? I don't have arms!!" He chokes down a sob as tears fill his eyes. "I- I can't do anything."

"That is an inconvenience, isn't it." Luon tuts, cocking his head. "You still need to eat, though." And then he leaves before MK can protest. MK focuses angrily on a pen resting on the desk. It shivers, a dark blue aura curling around it.

Then it rises in the air. MK lets out a small cheer, trying not to cry. He grasps a piece of paper in another curl of blue and tries to write. It takes some work to press the pen accurately against the paper. It takes a few hours to actually write anything. It will take even more practice to write anything legible with the same amount of control as he had over his glamour. But MK won't give up. He can't. He's never- never been able to.

It takes a moment for him to realize that the wet spots on the paper are tears. His shoulders shake with sobs, and the harder he tries to stop this _weak_ _foolish_ weeping, the harder he cries.

A knock on the door jolts shame through him. He grabs a tissue with magic and hastily pats it across his muzzle before throwing it into the trash with a swoosh of blue. He misses, but that hardly matters at the moment. "Come in." He says, his attempt at a cold intimidating voice coming out shaky and small.

Luon slithers in again with a platter of food. "Here's some food, Doctor." He says.

MK scowls. "I don't want food."

"You have to eat." Luon insists, placing the food in front of him.

"Aren't you going to help me??" MK snaps before the amlyg can turn to leave.

Luon doesn't spare even a moment of consideration. "No." He says. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

The door slams shut in front of Luon with a flash of blue. MK flinches immediately after the sudden outburst. He doesn't have as much control over his magic as he used to. "I-"

Without turning, Luon says, "I think you can help yourself quite well enough, Doctor."

"Please- don't leave me." MK says, hating how weak his voice is. "I'll owe you another favor, I'll do whatever you want, just- I don't want to be alone right now."

Luon turns around. "Doctor Mil-Gwedh." The name is harsh and heavily accented on the amlyg's slender forked tongue. "I'll stay with you, but I can't help you eat. You'll have to do that yourself."

MK stares at Luon. The commander was transferred a few months ago from another ship after the mutiny on the _Liltha_, and he never came for a physical, so MK never knew much about him. He never looks directly at MK, or anyone for that matter, and he's always sniffing the air like- "Yo, you're blind, aren't you." He says guiltily.

"Mostly." Luon corrects. "My heat sensing and electroreception also help me cope, much like your magic."

"How'd you know I had magic?" It's a stupid question, MK realizes after he's asked it.

"I can smell it on you, like citruses and seawater." Luon replies.

MK uses his magic to pull over a chair. "Sit, Commander. Can we talk?"

"Of course." Luon curls onto the seat. As MK struggles to get the fork into the food, and then get that into his mouth, Luon distracts him from his frustration with tales of battles and romances.

It's nice, MK realizes. It's nice to have a friend with him who cares about his well-being. Papyrus never bothered to check up on him--although Papyrus is probably extremely busy trying to keep the peace between the fleets and get everyone organized. And Ryuk just disappeared after Frisk captured MK. They probably ran away and got left behind in the Milky Way, the lucky bastard.

* * *

"Hey, Ensign Durrr'kal." You hear your fake name and turn with a grin to the miriel calling you. It's been a few days since the wormhole and already you've adapted to the new environment and people.

"Yeah, Lieutenant Wighko?"

"Captain wants to see ya." She mews and pats your head with a paw.

"Uh oh."

"Oh, no fearrr, darrrling, I told her ya hadn't been trained on the helm yet. She needs morre officers for the thirrd shift."

"Eh." This is new; you're still getting used to being respected as an officer. "Thank you."

She purrs and licks your nose. You scrunch your face up and giggle. "Anything forrr ya."

"Aww, you're such a flatterer." You bat one of her ears and grin. "This is gonna turn out to be revenge for beating you at cards, isn't it." You had to make do with someone else's card deck, and you couldn't even steal it. Not nearly as nice as your cards, though.

Her pleased smile grows. "Perrrhaps." Then she kisses your cheek with her blunt whiskery muzzle and sashays away, waving her fluffy grey-blue tail. Despite the belief of Terrans that Russian Blue cats are all sweet and affectionate, this miriel you know has _sharp_ claws and a vengeful spirit hidden underneath her beauty and sweet facade. You even have the scratches to prove it.

You report to the bridge, shivering as you step inside the freezing room, and Captain Ross turns to you. The meryn captain has olive coloration with brown streaks on her scales, and she's a few inches smaller than most meryn, who usually reach around four to five feet. "Ensign." She says stiffly.

"Yup." You reply, teeth chattering. You're not afraid, not really, since she has no reason to suspect you of anything.

A dagnir steps forward, red fur fluffed out and black-tipped tail lashing as his muzzle wrinkles in a snarl. Captain Ross gestures to him. "This is Ensign Dur'kal." She says. Welp. Shit. Time to defuse the situation with more lies.

"Oh? That's great, we have the same name!" You say happily, hugging yourself and breathing out forcefully to see the puffs of steam, pretending it's dragon smoke. "Wighko said you'd be teaching me the ropes on helm?"

"That won't be necessary. You aren't in our ship's computer anywhere."

"Oh, I'm a transfer." You wave her words off.

"From which ship?"

"Uh-" You falter. "It was one of the destroyed ones, I don't remember the name, heh heh- I was just assigned to this fleet not too long ago."

Captain Ross considers your lies as you pray to Rifli that she'll swallow the bullshit. "I see." She says calmly. "I'm sorry for the confusion. You may proceed."

"Thanks." You salute and start to go back off the bridge. You're safe for a bit longer. Baring your fangs as you walk away, you grin to yourself.

The door slides open before you reach it and the last two people you expected to ever see again walk in. M'rer and Kal'bun. The grey-furred fox-like dagnir sees you and leaps at you with a bark. You yelp and cower to the ground as her teeth sink into your shoulder. If you had actual scales and claws, you could fight her off, but you've been screwed over by mom dearest in that regard.

Kal'bun yanks M'rer off of you and you whimper, gripping your bloody shoulder. "Wait- I can explain!"

"Explain _what_??" Ross cries angrily. "Ensign Kal'bun, what is the meaning of this?? Why is your mate attacking my officer??"

"They're not your officer!!" Kal'bun spits. "They're a spy for the Republic!!"

The pain in your shoulder throbs as you stand up shakily. "Uh- y-yeah, the Admiral told me to make sure nobody's planning anything!" You agree quickly, seeing a potential way out. "But you're all cool, so I'll j-just go back?"

Ross glowers at you. "Call Admiral Eleos." She snaps to the real Dur'kal. "Tell him we have captured his spy and we are not pleased with this breach of the cease-fire."

"Yes, sir." Oh _shit_.

A few agonizing minutes later, Papyrus's face pops up in a hologram above the coms console. "_FUCKING HELL_, NO, I DID NOT AUTHORIZE THEM TO SPY ON YOU. THAT'S _RYUK_, A KNOWN TRICKSTER, THEY ABANDONED SHIP AND MUST HAVE TRIED TO STOWAWAY WITH YOU." He snaps in response to Ross's accusation.

You cringe and back away, hoping you can run while everyone is distracted, but Kal'bun's paw lands heavily on your injured shoulder. "Ow!" You yelp. "Let go, I'm sorry!! He was gonna kill me, so I had to run!! Please, Captain, I'm sorry for lying, but I had to!"

Kal'bun's long claws dig into the wound, making you whimper. "Sir, we can't trust them. I say we throw them out the nearest airlock."

"OR YOU COULD SEND THEM BACK TO ME AND LET ME DEAL WITH THEM. I ASSURE YOU, THE PUNISHMENT I DELIVER WILL BE _FAR_ MORE UNPLEASANT." Papyrus says.

Ross gives you a stern frown. You're trapped. The dreadful realization makes you limp and unresistant as your sentence is pronounced. "We will send them back to you, along with two of our officers. Ensigns M'rer and Kal'bun, escort Ryuk to the _Liltha_ and remain there in service to Admiral Eleos."

"I Agree To These Terms." Papyrus says. "I'll Be On The Bridge. If You Need Help Finding It, Just Ask Any Starma You Pass."

Kal'bun drags you down to the warmer hangar as M'rer follows behind, growling at you. "Wait, please, friends, buddies, chums," You beg as they lock a restraint on your wrists and shove you into a seat in a runabout. "I swear, on my honor, I'll stop lying if you just let me go!"

M'rer's tail lashes as they snarl, "You have no honor to swear by."

"Ouch." You wince. "Okay, maybe I deserved that, but c'mon, guys, he's going to roast me slowly over the fusion cores!!"

"Good." They both say at the same time and then bump heads with each other.

"Aww man, I'm so dead." You groan. "So very very dead."

"Kh, stay silent and meet your fate like a warrior." Kal'bun barks.

When they reach the _Liltha_, you fight back the relief in your bones that calls this ship _home_. It's not hard when the only other dominant feeling in your chest is blazing terror. As they drag you through the familiar mural-decorated halls, you follow submissively, silenced by the knowledge that the results of your actions have finally caught up with you.

Kal'bun has to ask for directions a few times before she finds the bridge, but finally your fate can't be delayed any longer. M'rer and Kal'bun shove you into the bridge before themselves. You hunch in on yourself, wishing you could puff out a smoke-screen and fly away.

"Thank You." Papyrus stomps up. "I Will Take Them Now. Report To The Mess Hall For Food, And Ensign Esther Will Give You Your New Assignments."

"Yes, sir." They both salute. Kal'bun grins viciously at you. "I hope you give'em hell." She snarls.

You look up at Papyrus and paste an innocent smile on your face; your ears would be flattened and your tail tucked submissively around your legs- if you _had_ ears and a tail. He glowers at you and grabs your shoulder-- the injured one, of course. You howl as he roughly drags you into his office, your shoulder on fire. "Ow! Owie, stop! Wa-wait!"

The office door closes behind you and he shoves you into a chair. You have one moment to realize your shoulder doesn't hurt and isn't bleeding anymore before he turns and shouts, "YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE _IDIOT_!!"

You shrink in your seat, for once lost for clever comebacks. He scowls at you. "I'm Not Even Going To Ask _What_ You Were Thinking When You Stowed Away On My Ship, Since It's Now Obvious To Me That You _Never_ Think."

"I just wanted to escape." You mumble, then flinch as he grabs you by the chin and forces your head up.

"I looked through the ship's rosters, _Ryuk_. Guess What I Found." His vicious grin sends a thrill of terror down your spine. "_You Don't Exist_."

"I mean, I'm right here, so- _eep_." You shut up at his sharp glare and drop your eyes, focusing instead on the bookshelf behind his desk. There's a picture book stood up on the edge, called _Fluffy Bunny and the Murderizing Escapades_. Heh.

"Nobody would even notice if I threw you into the fusion cores." Papyrus growls, effectively dousing the slight amusement. You go limp and pliant. The more you fight punishment, the more it hurts, that's what mom taught you. "But." He says, letting go of you, and he sounds extremely annoyed at the conjunction. "Luckily for _you_, I owe you a debt."

Hope beads in you. "Right, I- I saved you from those guards!" You cry.

"You gave my brother a means of escape." Papyrus allows. "So for that, I will let you live. But make no mistake, Ryuk, I will not be pleased if I ever see you or even hear your name mentioned around me."

You grimace. "You're going to put me in the brig again, aren't you."

Papyrus sighs, suddenly seeming exhausted. "Precisely."

"What if I do you another favor, will you let me stay free?" You plead. "I always pulled my weight on the _Liltha_, I helped with cooking, cleaning, and I even helped people find dates!"

He perks up at that. It's almost cute. Or would be, if he weren't a terrifying asshole all the time. "Dates, Hm? Fine. I'm Probably Going To Regret This, But If You Find Me A Suitable Datemate Within Three Months, I Will Pardon You. You have three strikes, and you may stay out of the brig during the trial period." He tosses his head haughtily. "Nyeh Heh Heh, though I doubt you'll find a single one who can match me for greatness, or who even meets my lofty standards!! Dismissed!" What an arrogant pompous _asshole_.

"Oh yeah??" You stand up and back away to the door. "I'll find a date who's _greater_ than your dickass self!!" He glowers and looms, but you continue, tensing to run, "It shouldn't be too hard, all I have to do is scrape one of those _barnacles_ off an engine, then you can go fuck yourself!!" Then you flee out the door and race off the bridge as he shrieks furiously after you, euphoria exploding in your chest as you escape karma yet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please kudos and comment!! I really love feedback, and I'll reply to all comments!! 
> 
> I'll even give you imaginary cookies!! Unless you're gluten free or don't like cookies, in which case, it'll be imaginary apples!! But if you're too shy to comment, that's totally alright too, I'll just slide some cookies under the imaginary door, *here you go, cookies and/or apples for my lovely shy cuties*.


	4. Heard The Call As You Walked Away

Sans sighs, exhausted. He's been working nonstop to hammer out a treaty with Admiral Undyne of the Alliance fleet stupidly called _Merdouille_. Frisk must have named it. Sans hopes Undyne doesn't change it back to the stupider name _Murder_, though. At least _Merdouille_ is funny.

The captains and Admiral Undyne agree to the treaty that will share resources, crews, and ships as though the two fleets were on the same side. But none of the crews are happy about this arrangement. They've been forced to kill one another for too long to be pleased about being forced to work together now. And Undyne still wants to fight Papyrus for control of the entirety of both fleets.

The worst part of all this work is, he can't even prank the kid while he's so busy. He hasn't had a good prank in _ages_. Sure, sometimes he'll wake up and there'll be toothpaste in his sandwich instead of mayonnaise, and that makes him chuckle and he eats it all anyway, but he has no time to take _revenge_.

He takes a few minutes to stop the kid in the halls before heading to a conference with his brother and Undyne. He has to make sure it doesn't end in blows, friendly or otherwise, since the captains wouldn't understand the two rivals' playful abuse of each other. "hey, kid." He chuckles.

"Sans!!" They cry and pounce at him.

"woah," he dodges and they smack into the wall. "ya missed me?"

"Duh." They say, rubbing their head and grinning ruefully. "I was so lonely without my prank-buddy!"

They're lying, mostly. They want something. Sans shakes his head in fond amusement. "kid, you're gonna have to try harder than that."

Their facade drops and they scowl at him. "Alright, Sans, you know what I want. So hand it over."

"oh." He says with a light huff. "i see. you never cared about your ol' buddy, huh."

"Nope!" They agree cheerfully, lying again. "I want my cards back!"

"heh. i'm not sure you're responsible enough for these." They're certainly _not_, especially since he knows the first thing they'd do is use a game of strip poker to get two or more innocent officers naked in a dark room together and then escape and cackle to themself, smug in their matchmaking abilities.

Their face drops. "Okay."

He's surprised and more than a little suspicious. But then, when they hug him, he's blocked by the wall and can't dodge it. "uh, kid." Their hands slip quietly into his hoodie pockets, searching in vain for their precious cards, and he wouldn't even notice if he didn't know their tricks so well. He taps their shoulder. "let go." They draw away, sniffling. Crocodile tears, of course. "heh, you honestly think i'd have'em with me? around a silver-tongued, sticky-fingered rascal like you?"

"Fuck you." They stick out their tongue and make a rude gesture. "I'll get them back sooner or later."

Sans chuckles. They're one of the few people who can get away with being rude to him. The other, of course, being Papyrus. "you can try. see ya around." He waves and then takes a shortcut to the conference room.

It's not till the middle of the conference that he puts his hands back in his pockets and misses the warm metal of his room key. He's the only person with an early-twenty-first century key to his room, but he never told anyone that, and the keyhole is hidden in the fake passcode lock.

He excuses himself from the proceedings--Undyne hasn't been too rambunctious today, after all--and shortcuts to his room. It's empty, but the kid's deck of cards isn't on the counter anymore, replaced by his key. He grabs the key and searches around, but it looks like that's the only thing they touched. If they'd messed with anything else, they'd be asking for such a dunking, but as it is, he decides to let them get away with it this once. Not scot free, though. 

He confronts them later, as they're cleaning up after second shift's dinner. "hey, kid." He growls.

"Oh, hey, Sans." They grin back and flick the wet rag at him. He dodges it despite knowing there's no intent in the mischievous blow.

"you, uh, busy?"

"Nah, not really." They smirk slightly.

"great." He says, landing on an excellent revenge. "i've been up to my neck in legalities and formalities and all that jazz, so i could use a break. you mind switching?" Papyrus will get so pissed, and the best part is that Sans will get to nap through it all.

Their eyes widen with surprised amusement. "Really?"

"i mean, you can't really mess much up, the treaty's already settled, and if you do _somehow_ manage to break that, well, i'd be kinda unhappy." He chuckles when they grimace at his understatement. They've seen him get pissed before-- luckily for them, it was usually at people other than themself-- and he knows he ain't pretty when he's mad. "but yeah, go on the bridge, bug a few officers, distract my bro from his soul-crushing existential crisis, while i take a nap."

They scowl. "Your bro's a jerk."

Sans's odd fondness for them nearly poofs out of existence. "look, pal." They wince, realizing from his tone they fucked something up. "he's under a lot of pressure. and you ain't ever helped, got it?"

"Doesn't mean he has to take it out on everyone." They grumble. "But fine, yeah, as _charming~_ as I am, I haven't been- exactly- uh." They look back to their dishes guiltily. "Helpful, I guess."

Sans shrugs. "i'll grant ya that. but give him a chance. trust me, he's cool when you get to know him- and when he ain't dealing with the loss of hundreds of starmas and seven ships."

They flinch at that. "That's my fault, isn't it." They admit quietly.

Sans shrugs again. "sorta, in a convoluted indirect way, i suppose. but eh. could be worse. you coulda gotten _him_ killed. then you'd be in real trouble."

"You're such a fucking frood." They sniff disdainfully. "Fine, I'll distract him for you. Again."

Sans gives them a stern glare. "no mutiny this time."

"Aye, aye." They salute mockingly. "Go kiss a goat."

Sans can feel his blush heating his cheekbones. He turns away quickly to hide it, trying to drown the memory of Asgore. "heh, alright, kid. just for you." He says, chuckling. Stars, he hasn't seen Fuzzball in _ages_.

But Asgore is here in Andromeda, since Frisk captured him. Even better, he and Toriel somehow got transferred onto the _Liltha_ a few days ago. Heh, Toriel's been trying to bug Papyrus to let Frisk free but nobody will let her on the bridge.

Sans's eyes darken at the thought of Frisk. He should kill her and be done with it all. But Papyrus would not be happy with him if he did that. So he decides to use his precious nap-time to visit an old flame instead.

When he appears in Asgore's quarters, the old goat-lion sedryn rises from his couch with a stunned look. "Sans?"

"hey, fuzzball." Sans says, trying not to tear up as Asgore gathers him gently in his big fluffy arms and nuzzles his skull.

* * *

As you near the bridge with the sacred duty given by Sans to distract everyone, you consider your options. You don't really want to piss off Papyrus _too_ much, since he could change his mind and throw you back in the brig. Heh, but is it even possible for you to not cross lines? Sneaking into Sans's room probably crossed a line, but it was necessary to get your cards back.

"I demand you allow us inside!!" An angry goat-lion sedryn yells at one of the security guards stationed by the bridge. You have another way inside, though. You glance at the adani slouching behind the goat-lion. He growls in annoyance, then the golden eyes beneath his platinum bangs meet yours.

You grin and sneak away to the ants' nest, with the strange adani following you. Inside the hidden tunnels, you crouch on your knees and cock your head at him. "Hey."

"Golly, do you know a way into the bridge or are you a useless plebeian like the rest of them??" The adani grins back, his eyes narrowed in a distinctly unfriendly way.

"Eh, wow." You wink. "I don't even know your name."

"Bracken." He says, sounding bored. "Mom- uh, Toriel wants to get Frisk free."

You grimace. That isn't the kind of distraction you were hoping to cause. But then you get an idea. A perfect idea. It won't cross any lines, and yet it will be the best prank ever. You give Bracken a lopsided smile. "Alright, I'm Ryuk. I can get you in."

"Wonderful." He says and you're reminded of a certain asshole skeleton with that one word. Right. Papyrus won't be pleased if you do this.

Which is exactly why you lead Bracken to the grate that leads right into Papyrus's office. Bracken drops inside. You close the grate behind him and then return and sneak past the guards as they're dealing with Toriel.

The bridge is laid out in a weird way, with the Admiral's seat on one end facing the screens on the other end of the sphere, and the consoles span around the inside of the sphere on a line of 'vertical' latitude--or a small circle, in geometric terms--which all also face the screens. It would be extremely disorienting for anyone who's used to high-g environments, but you grew up in a space station.

The coms console has a curunir officer currently discussing something with Se'Vir, who seems to be miffed, judging by his ruffled blue feathers and flared tail. You bounce to the operations console, where a lovely adani looks up and grins at you, her warm-brown cheeks dimpling. "Hello."

"Hey!" You grin innocently. Papyrus storms out of his office, followed by a smirking Bracken, so you sidle to put the officer between yourself and the angry admiral. "Sans told me to cause a distraction."

"Did he, now." She says with a dry smile. "What kind?"

"I was thinking of blasting mushy old songs through the fleet." You say, praying to Rifli she becomes your accomplice.

"Hm, I think you'd need the coms console for that. Do you have a playlist?" She says with a professional air as though she were discussing the budget.

"Of course I do. But, uh, there's someone there." You simper at her. "Could you-"

"Distract Dexi and Se'Vir?" She finishes with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah! That would be great!"

"Hm." She considers it, then says with a twinkle in her eye, "What's in it for me?"

"Uhhh, a date with Papyrus?" You offer in a futile attempt to knock out two birds with one stone.

She laughs at you. "Forget it."

"What?? You don't want to date that fine specimen of a dick??" You gasp in mock horror.

"I'm lesbian." She says with a smirk. "Otherwise I rather like my admiral, so don't diss him around me."

"Oh, oops." You droop melodramatically, hiding your amazement that somebody besides Sans actually likes him. "Okay, I'm sorry."

"Mhm, and I'm Esther." She says. You giggle at her dumb joke. "Alright, I'll take mercy on you. Owe me a future favor and I'll do it." 

"Deal! The name's Ryuk." You offer your hand and she shakes it. Then she rises and pushes off in the low-g to glide over to the curunir, who's apparently called Dexi.

Dexi glows with orange-yellow disdain when her attention falls on you. Curunir have the creepiest appearances of any aliens you've ever seen. But then she and Se'Vir move to the door where Papyrus currently has engaged Toriel in a shouting match. You're not sure who's winning.

You bounce over to the coms console when Esther beckons to you. "Do your magic." She says and ruffles your hair.

"Aye, aye!" You slip inside the console. The shipboard computer, Iroh, knows exactly what you want as soon as your fingers are on the screen, his data arcing into your hands. It's like Iroh is psychic or something. You've always had a way with computers. Mom says it's in your jeans. Which is funny cause you hate jeans, they're all always too tight on you. Heh, she'd get so pissed at you if she could hear you mocking her one true love-- _science_.

You set the mushy playlist to start in twenty minutes, then you blow a kiss to Esther and escape into Papyrus's office, using the grate inside there to get to the ants' nest.

Twenty minutes later, the entire fleet is regaled with centuries-old classics from all different worlds. You're surprised that the music stays playing for quite a while, you thought everyone would be trying to turn it off right away. But most people actually seem to enjoy it.

Halfway through your last counseling session for the day, it turns off after the last song has played, and your patient lets out a disappointed sigh. "I liked that music." He says. "Reminded me of home." _Home_. You don't understand that. You don't really have a home other than the _Liltha_, and even that you've proven you'll abandon in times of trouble.

Your patient gets up and leaves after he's done venting to you about his problems with his superior officer. You understand that, since you have problems with basically every officer. Except Esther, she was nice. You clean up the tissues from the floor and then glance up in surprise as the door opens again. Papyrus strides inside and sits down, not looking at you.

You sit back down on the counselor's spinny chair and spin it so you're facing away from him. "How are you feeling today?" You ask in your professional counseling voice.

"Like Shit." He replies. Before you can make a clever comeback, he continues. "But That's Nothing New." Is- is this him being slightly self-aware? You bite your tongue, afraid to ruin the moment. "My Officers Have Informed Me That I Should Thank You For The Music."

"You're welcome?" You reply nervously.

"How'd You End Up With This Job?" He asks. He sounds tired. Maybe he's too tired to be a jerk right now. Being a raging asshole all the time must take a lot of energy, after all.

"The previous counselor- uh- accidentally spaced himself." You reply, wishing you were making the story up. "He was sleepwalking."

"And The Head Cook?"

"He ran off with a cute garthaglaw boy. Mantis-type."

Papyrus sighs. "What Became Of The Janitor?"

"The _Head_ Janitor was assassinated, but there's a bunch of us pitching in." You laugh. "This ship can't be cleaned by just one person, duh."

He's silent, and you're not looking at him so you can't see if he's mad or not. He's probably mad, though. "You're Oddly Efficient For Being Such A Cowardly Moron." He says finally.

"If you get to insult me, I get to insult you." You shoot back.

"Fire Away. It Won't Be Anything I Haven't Heard Before."

You spin around and glare at him. "What's going on??"

He stares at the ground. "I Don't Know What You Mean."

"You're always a jerk and shouting and being really _mean_, so you can't just turn around and be all buddy-buddy, it's _creepy_." You retort.

He still doesn't meet your eyes. "I Hurt My Lieutenant."

Oh. Oh _no_. "You did what??" You cry angrily, standing up to yell at him. "Esther better be okay, it wasn't her fault, I was the one who turned on the music, so why the fuck did you-"

"NO!!" He cries. You cross your arms, looming over him. "I- I Didn't Touch Ensign Esther." He ducks his head-- guilty is a new look on him and he doesn't look comfortable in it. "I hurt Dexi." He admits in a small voice.

"Why??"

"She Was In My Way!!" He crosses his arms petulantly. "I Was Trying To Get Rid Of Toriel And She Got In My Way And Started Trying To Calm Me Down Without My Permission, So I- I- shoved her."

Anger buzzes in your veins. "Did you apologize??"

"No!" He snaps. "I Can't. I'm The Admiral. I Can't Seem- _Weak_. I Hurt People All The Fucking Time- So Why Do I Feel So _Shitty_??"

"Because you might just have a _heart_ underneath all those sharp edgy bones, idiot." You scoff. "You're a bitch and you're stupid, whoop-de-doo. Go apologize and then _stop being such a fucking asshole_." His fists clench as he glares at the ground. "Or you can _hit_ _me_ and descend into a vicious cycle of taking out your guilt and rage on everyone around you."

"F-Fine." He grumbles. "I _despise_ you, but you're right- for once."

"I despise you too." You retort. "I don't know why Esther likes you. _Platonically_, duh, she's a lesbian."

He flinches at that for some reason. "Fine."

"Fine! Go!!"

"I'm Going!!" He growls and stands up, towering a full three inches over you. Fuck him _and_ mom; if you were a dragon, _you'd_ be taller.

"You're _welcome_!!" You snap, unabashedly jealous of his superior height and powerful voice. 

"_Thank_ You!!" He snaps back, spitting the words like they're a curse. Then he stomps out. Dazed, you stare at the closed door. Did that seriously just happen??

* * *

Papyrus storms out of the counselor's room, not sure why he even bothered going there. Of _course_ Ryuk would be the counselor on his ship. Just his luck. But their _rude _words still echo in his soul, compounding the spikes of guilt. He hurt Dexi. He _likes_ Dexi. He likes all his officers, but Dexi has always praised him whenever he needed it most, and he's needed her more than ever since his commodore had been killed in the conflict. He huffs and glares at the stars as he glides across the ladder of a slide to the next ring in. "I- I'm _Sorry_." He tests the words out. "I _Apologize_."

But when he's on the bridge and Dexi is in her console _not looking at him_, he finds the words choke in his soul and shrivel up as his pride battles for dominance. "I- I-" He stammers. Dexi glows red with hurt anger, as open with her emotions as others' emotions are clear to her. "I'M SORRY!!" He cries, unable to control his volume, so it comes out as a bark. "I Mean! I Apologize, Lieutenant, For Shoving You, That Was Uncalled For!" The words come out in a rush as though a dam was exploded.

She glares at him and gets up. He forces himself to not flinch back as she glides closer. She can transfer and amplify emotions. It's always been a boon, but now Papyrus realizes how _intimidating_ that ability really is. "I forgive you." She says, placing a hand on his sternum. The nameless emotion she gives him drowns out the guilt and the grief and the pride, calming the confusing storms.

"Thank You." Papyrus wishes he could wrap himself in the strength and safety of anger, yet he doesn't want to hurt her again.

"That was so brave of you, sir." Dexi says, glowing green with admiration, and the praise brightens his soul, lifting him out of the shitty weak feeling of vulnerability.

"R-Really?? I Mean- Of Course, I Am Quite Brave, Nyeh Heh!!"

Dexi laughs, a light trilling sound. "Would you like to make me dinner, Admiral?"

Papyrus's cheekbones flush with heat. "Yes, Of Course! I Will Make Up For My Transgression!!"

"I think you should apologize to Toriel as well." She says and grabs his hand to lead him out of the bridge. He follows, confused.

"I Don't Think So!!" He protests, flickers of resentment rising from embers of deep bitterness. "She Would Not Appreciate Weakness From Her Former Captain."

"Weakness?" Dexi replies. "Apologizing isn't weak, Papyrus."

He almost protests the casual use of his name, but then he decides to hell with protocols, they're in another galaxy so it doesn't matter. He remains silent until the two are in her quarters. "Where I was raised," He says quietly, going to the kitchenette to see what food she's stored, "We would be killed or worse for showing weakness." He finds some vegetables and a bit of bear meat, so he sets a pot on the stove and fills it with water to be boiled.

Dexi's pity glows pink on her glassy skin. "I-"

"_Don't_." He snaps, julienning a few carrots, green onions, and potatoes. "Don't You Dare _Pity_ Me. I'm Not A Victim And I Never Was."

"I would never say that." She says, but her tone shows her uncertainty. Planning to make her forget her foolish pity, he puts down the knife and turns around to face her, leaning in. "What are you doing?" She says with a flicker of pinks and reds and he almost stops, but then smirks when he realizes her tone is coy and the colors were fond.

"We Sedryn Don't Hesitate To Take What We Want." He hisses, memories of dust and tears and ichor on his hands as Muffet praised his handiwork running through his mind, the same words she used echoing in his soul. Dexi can feel his conflict, but she still lifts herself on her tiptoes and touches him, suffusing his bones with the soft affection.

"And what is it you want?" She murmurs against his skull, the heat of her closeness burning him.

Ryuk flashes into his mind. He despises the bastard, but it seems like they've gotten him a date after all. He answers by pressing his teeth to her smooth silken skin as her nerves all light up with deep shades of crimson.

Then she pulls away, smirking. "Why, Papyrus, how rude to kiss me without even making me dinner. So ungentlemanly." He flinches at the painful word, hating himself for the weakness. Dexi flickers with confusion. "Sir-"

"I- I'm Sorry." He says, and it's easier to say the second time. "What Are We?"

"Well." She purrs. "I think you could be my boyfriend, if you wanted."

Papyrus suppresses his pain at the term and grins at her. "That Sounds Nice." He says, hating himself for the lie.

She kisses him again and he decides it's very nice indeed. Well worth the pain of being called a _boy_.

_Wait, what-_ He shoves the errant thoughts out of his head in favor of spinning and dumping the vegetables into a pot of boiling water. Droplets splash onto his arm, the pain clearing his mind. When Dexi isn't looking, he uses the spoon to flick more boiling water at himself.

"What's wrong, Papyrus?" She hums when he brings over the stew to the small table by her couch. He sits down and scoops a bowlful for her.

"Nothing, Why??" He retorts. She flickers with red, the basic equivalent of a frown, and she rests a silky translucent hand on his arm. His emotions calm. He can trust her. "Fine. There's A Power Imbalance Here. I Hurt You Earlier, So Why Do You Like Me??"

She laughs at him. If it weren't for her hand on his arm, the pride wounded by her laugh might have made him lash out. But she's still transferring calm peace and trust. "I like you because you care about me." She says. "You care about all of us. You're arrogant and you're angry, but you've always tried to keep all of us safe." She kisses him again and purrs against his teeth, "I like you because you conquered your pride and _apologized_."

"Y-Yes, I See That, But-"

"And there is no power imbalance." She says with an almost dark lilt to her voice.

"How Is There Not-"

Her hand tightens and he flinches, curling in on himself as the peace turns to violently painful guilt and fear. Then as suddenly as it came, it goes away again. "You see?" She says gently. "We can hurt each other." '_So don't hurt me and I won't hurt you'_ goes unspoken, but Papyrus sees the implication all the same.

"Wonderful." He says darkly, not sure whether he'd regret his attraction to her if her hand weren't on his arm. She moves to take her soup and he quickly suppresses the anger that bubbles up. She only did it as a demonstration. He trusts her. And if she can sense the anger he's valiantly hiding from himself, she makes no sign of it.

* * *

M'rer presses close with Kal'bun's arm around their shoulders. They push against Kal'bun to move her out of the way of a burly adani, but they're not fast enough as he shoves Kal'bun. She stumbles and M'rer snarls at the adani. He just scoffs at them, "_Harthad scum_."

"_Teryn_ _bilge-barnacles_." M'rer growls back.

He doesn't escalate, thankfully, choosing to only spit at them and turn away. With Kal'bun drunk as hell and nearly conked out, M'rer doesn't know if they could take an adani by themself. The two fleets may have a nominal alliance for now, but nobody likes working civilly beside those who have gladly killed their comrades without a second thought.

The tensions run deeper and stronger than just that one battle, though. The Alliance of Harthad seceded from the Republic of Teryn twenty years ago, and ever since then the two have been at war. The Alliance of Harthad, led by the clever vulture-like galvorn, just wants to be free to have smaller star system governments in control of taxes and local laws and militias, while the Republic of Teryn wants everyone to be under the thumb of their council of the gaudy uiloth chancellors.

M'rer's fleet used to be called _Murder_ by Queen Undyne who fought her way to the top and led them into glorious battles. But then Undyne _changed_. M'rer now knows she was betrayed and replaced by an adani woman named Frisk who had history with her, but at the time it felt like Undyne had gone mad. She changed the fleet's name to _Merdouille_ and went around hunting down other sedryn. It all culminated when she trapped the _Dragonfly_ fleet in the Thorn Brand. And now- now M'rer and Kal'bun will never again get to see their three children and eight grandchildren and all their friends, separated by two-point-five million light years.

M'rer wishes they could get drunk like their wife, if only to forget everything for a time. They collapse at an empty table in the mess hall and lean Kal'bun against the wall.

"Hey, M'rer." A familiar voice greets. The dagnir growls and bares their teeth at Ryuk, who grins back innocently. "Want some soup?"

"Is this some sort of trick??" M'rer snarls.

"Nope, no trick. Here." They take a sip of the soup and hum in appreciation. "_Yum_. Your pal looks stoned."

"She's my wife." M'rer says tersely and snatches the soup from Ryuk the trickster.

"Aww, cute." They clap their hands. "I'll get some meds from the doctor for her hangover, if you want."

"Why??" M'rer snaps, confused why they're being nice to her. It has to be a trap.

Their grin falls. "It's lonely, isn't it." They say. "I know, I've been there. I- uh, I'm originally a stowaway. The people here form grudges fast and let go slowly, but if you pitch in and pull your weight, they'll grow to respect you, even if they never like you."

"You're a weird adani." M'rer sniffs. Maybe they're not lying, for once, but they still can't be trusted. "What favor do you want in return for this??"

"Heh," They smile innocently. "Whyever would you think that? But, uh, if you _do_ happen to help out by cleaning stuff, I'm sure it would make everyone grateful! _Along with lightening my workload._" The last part is muttered quickly under their breath.

M'rer's muzzle parts in an amused pant. "Deal." They yap, cheerful now that they've figured Ryuk out. "You aren't so bad, I suppose."

"Aww, you charmer~" They giggle and pat M'rer's head. M'rer snaps at their hand. "_Eep_, sorry!" They skip away. M'rer watches them go, then sees the burly adani from earlier confronting the shorter troublemaker. They wave his words off with a laugh and then move on. But as soon as the burly adani starts for M'rer's table, he trips, seemingly on air. Ryuk laughs again, loud and wild, and the bigger adani forgets M'rer in favor of yelling at them, his face changing color from pale pink to red as they piss him off more.

M'rer remembers their soup and laps it up quickly, crunching the delicious meat chunks and quickly swallowing down the less-tasty vegetables. Then they grab Kal'bun and drag her to the door while Ryuk distracts their heckler. As M'rer is almost out the door, Ryuk calls after them, "I'll have the meds for you later!!"

M'rer salutes back, grateful to them despite all the shit they've tried to pull. M'rer doesn't hold grudges long, not like Kal'bun does. Later, they'll ask Ensign Esther for small jobs to complete.

As the days pass, turning into weeks, the tension doesn't get better. But making a couple friends in Ensign Esther and a few other more-forgiving starmas, being able to banter with Ryuk, having Kal'bun by their side, that- all that makes the hatred almost bearable.


	5. For What Seemed An Eternity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah, nearly forgot, there's like two paragraphs of spicy stuff between Asgore and Sans in Sans's POV. Just a heads-up so you're not blindsided by it. But, like, if you're here, you already should know there's gonna be explicit content in this story and you'd better not be a kid, so. yep.

The _Liltha_ is in mourning still, even a month after the conflict. The more artistic people on the ship have joined together to paint the dead starmas' likenesses onto the walls, forming a new tradition. Nobody in the _Dragonfly_ fleet had ever died before, so the grief of losing so many people all at once is sharp and fresh in everyone's souls.

You pass your comrades in the halls as they drink until they open up enough to share stories of their friends and then laugh until they cry. Each dead person had friends in this fleet, a found family, even if their birth family was fucked up. Each one still living has friends in the old galaxy, family in other fleets, other planets, inaccessible now, possibly- _probably_ forever.

So when Papyrus and Undyne, the admirals of the opposing fleets, declare that they're having a showdown to fuse the two fleets together permanently and decide which of them will lead it, you're pretty sure nobody will be pleased by either's victory. The majority of the starmas on the _Liltha_ despise the Admiral, even though his officers seem to love him for some reason, so they boycott the fight and throw themselves into painting and singing.

You would do that as well, except you're found in the kitchen by Commander Luon and dragged to sickbay. "MK wishes to see you." He says with a note of amusement. "He's rather pissed with you."

"Uh oh." You say, nervous. Luon shoves you into the doctor's office unsympathetically and closes the door behind you. "Hey, Mil-Gwedh." You say, dropping your eyes guiltily. What are you supposed to say, '_sorry I ran away and left you with a maniac'_??

MK glares at you. Maybe you muttered that last bit out loud. Whoops. "Fuck you." He says.

"I- uh, that's fair."

"Fair??" MK shrieks. "_Fair_?!? You _abandoned me_!! And now I don't have a fucking glamour because Frisk crushed it because _you_ were an idiot and _dIDN'T TELL ME YOU FREED PAPYRUS AND SANS_!!!"

"Oops." You mumble. "My bad."

"_Oops_. _Your_ _Bad_??" He growls. "Yo, is _thAT_ ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY??" His voice cracks, tears running down his orange scaly muzzle.

"Why don't- why don't you make a new one?" You offer in a vain attempt to placate him.

His head twists as though he's trying to comprehend the sheer stupidity of what you just said. You wince and duck your head to brace yourself. "Make a new one." He says, deadpan, dull. "Make _a new one_."

"Yyyes?" From his tone, you're guessing that's not actually possible, but it's too late to retract your words.

He breathes in and out with loud and ragged huffs. "Ryuk." He says with dangerous calm. "Yo. If _I_ could just _make_ a _new_ one. Why the _fuck_ would I be liKE _THIS!!_"

You wince at his outburst, then offer, "Uh, because you haven't found anyone who can make it for you yet?"

MK breathes a sharp long huff through his nose. "Great!!" He cheers, sarcasm bleeding from his tone. "And where, exactly, would I even _find_ someone to do that for me?? Much less find all the _rare__ingredients_??"

"I- I don't know."

"You _don't know_. Wow. Thanks, Ryuk. Great help, you are." He spits bitterly.

"I'm sorry, MK." You mumble. "I really am."

He lets out a shuddering sigh as tears roll down his muzzle again. "Yo, I- I forgive you, Ryuk, but I'm still pissed at you. Get out."

"Okay." You escape out the door and hurry to the exit of the sickbay. Maybe you will go to the fight, after all. A bit of loud showmanship should distract you from the guilt pressing in on your chest.

The gym has only officers when you enter. There's not a single starma inside. And in the center of the scattered ring formed by the lieutenants and ensigns and whatnot, a blue-skinned vaguely-fishy sedryn who matches Alphys's over-sexualized description of Undyne faces down Papyrus with a shark-toothed grin. You already know you want her to win.

"You got this, Paps!!" The curunir Lieutenant from the coms console shouts--what was her name again? Dexi? How the hell does Papyrus let her call him that so casually- he's turning red. He's _blushing_. Oh stars, they're _together_. No wonder he was so upset when he hurt her.

"Beat him down, Undies!!" You shout. "Thrash his pelvis to the ground!!" A high-pitched cackle from the other side of the ring catches your attention, and you spot Alphys waving at you. Since the officers around you are glaring currently, displeased with your traitorous cheering, you make your way to her. "Hey, bitch." You punch her shoulder lightly.

"Hello, Ryuk, hehe." She giggles. "Undyne will win, no fear."

"Great!" You clap your hands together, pretending you have claws. "I like her better anyway!"

"M-me too." Alphys says. "P-Papyrus is- is a j-jerk."

"Right??" You cry, happy to find someone to agree with you.

The first round ends abruptly. You missed the entire thing, but it seems like Undyne won this one. Winner is the best two out of three. Alphys whoops and Undyne blows a kiss to her. You catch the kiss, then give it to Alphys by pecking her nose.

After Undyne has flipped you off, the two opponents retreat to opposite sides of the arena, then turn to face one another. It starts in a rush of sudden movement. They're not using magic, apparently, or the onlookers would be in danger. So Undyne's five-foot sword and Papyrus's sabre flash through the air, clanging as the smaller curved blade deflects the ginormous sword. Papyrus doesn't even try to block the huge sword, only redirecting it and trying to get within her reach.

"Are those real?" You hiss to Alphys, not taking your eyes off the spectacular duel.

"Yeah, I made the sword, and Papyrus made his own talwar."

"How??"

"Ritualized magic." She hisses back, then whoops as Undyne almost knocks Papyrus's sabre away.

"Oh." You frown. "What's that?"

She huffs. "You know, potions and spells instead of soul instinct. There's a spell to make a magical attack solid, but it takes both adani blood and sedryn dust, along with a lot of concentration and energy to make it hold the form you want."

"Woah." You whistle, awestruck by the cool solid-magic weapons. "You made that huge anime sword??"

"Yep. Metta- uh, my son helped. He got the dust." She giggles again. It's not a kind sound. Her meaning of _dust_ sinks in and you bite back a gag. "I- I had to get the bl-blood when we got on the surface, though."

You have a faint feeling that there's something this information should connect to, something you need to ask her, but you forget it in favor of booing when Papyrus somehow wins the second round.

"You ever fight?" Alphys asks.

"Ha, no." You say bitterly. Now, if you were stronger, like, say if mom had made you a _dragon_, then you'd totally fight instead of run away from confrontation. It's all mom's fault.

"Hehe, maybe you should learn and assassinate Papyrus." She giggles. You're starting to think she's less cute than she tries to seem.

"Nah, too much work." You yawn to accentuate the point.

"D-don't turn into Sans, please." Alphys pinches your stomach harshly, making you yelp. "The world c-can't handle two of- of him."

"I dunno, I think that guy might just invent a cloning machine, and then we'd have to-"

"Deal with a swarm of Papyruses." She interrupts darkly. "Sans hates himself, but he can't get enough of his dumb brother."

"He isn't dumb." You defend him without thinking. She gives you a sharp look and you shrug. "He's really not. I can hate him for what he is without making stuff up. He's angry all the time-" -except he showed real regret and guilt after hurting Dexi, and from the looks of things, he might have actually apologized to her- "He's a total jerk-" Except he's spared your life, what, twice now? Would he do that if he were honestly malicious? "And he's- uh." You stop short. What is he, anyway? Arrogant? An asshole? Loud?? Why do all his officers, the people who spend the most time around him, _love him_ while the starmas who barely know him _hate him_??

"D-don't tell me you _like_ him now." Alphys mutters. You stare at the fight between Undyne and Papyrus, watching them trade blows. Papyrus- he looks like he's _enjoying_ himself.

"I don't." You decide. "But he's not dumb."

Papyrus loses. Alphys cheers wildly and runs onto the arena to give the winner a smooch. Papyrus bows to Undyne and then rises again, sockets flashing with something other than anger. His gaze meets yours. You give him a mocking wave.

He nods back and then turns away as Dexi races up to hug him. Her nerves glow with affectionate crimson as she grips his skull and brings his teeth to her smooth face. You understand, then, that he never changed at all. The curunir is affecting him, removing his natural anger and replacing it with love. He probably never even apologized. He's just letting himself be manipulated.

You almost think '_serves him right_'. But something about that doesn't feel okay. You can't do anything to help. But maybe you know somebody who _can_.

* * *

"Sans!!"

The skeleton so-named turns around and dodges as the kid tries to leap at him. "ya woulda had more luck with the sneak attack if ya were, i dunno, _sneakier_." He grunts, pissed off since their last prank on him went horribly awry. They pant, seeming out of breath, and they've lost their signature smirk. "what's goin' on, kid?"

"Papyrus." They huff. "He- he's _dating_-"

"yep. that he is. what, you disappointed that someone actually loves him?" Seriously, _nobody_ messes with Sans's sriracha.

"No!" They snap. "Listen to me!!"

Sans sighs. "kiddo, if ya secretly liked him, ya shoulda just told him insteada beatin' around the bush."

"_Stars_, no!!" They cry. "Sans, you're impossible!! He's dating _Dexi_! She's-"

"a curunir, who can affect emotions, yeah, i see where you're heading, pal, and i don't like it." Sans says sternly.

They droop. "But, he's not actually changing." They complain. "Dexi's just playing pretend like he's becoming better."

Papyrus is perfect and wonderful just as he is, and nobody can change Sans's mind on that. Starting to get pissed off by their implication, his grin tightens as he says calmly, "nobody changes, buddy. not you, not him, not me, not _anybody_. you'll always be a coward an' a liar, he'll always be arrogant and loud, and me? welp, i'll always be the one to dunk ya if you try to hurt him. and breaking up a match that's been making him happier? that, i count as hurting. so forget it, pal."

They glare at him. "It's not making him happy!! Don't you see, he'll be angrier than before when he figures out what she's doing!!"

Sans grabs their wrist tight enough to hurt. "are you seriously accusing a lieutenant of willfully manipulating my brother? and my brother of not _realizing_ or consenting to it??" Sans doesn't snap often, but he's ready to. "look, just cause she's a curunir and has that special power doesn't mean she'll use it against him or that he's helpless against her. he's not stupid. if she's using him, he'll figure it out and beat her up."

"But-" They whimper as his bone-hand's grip on their wrist tightens hard enough to bruise.

"why do you care??" Sans snaps. "you've always been either getting in his way or abandoning him to the enemy, so _why the fuck _do you suddenly act like you care about his wellbeing?? listen, pal, i'm keeping an eye on him, and if you try to hurt him by fucking up his relationship, you better be prepared for the worst time of your _life_. now scram."

"Ow!" They cry. "I will if you _let go_!"

Sans releases them and they rub the bruised wrist, glaring at him. "you gonna be smart an' scram now or are you gonna keep cruisin' for a bruisin'?" He asks, widening his grin maliciously.

They wince. "I'm sorry." That placates him and he's ready to let them go, but then they open their fool mouth wider and continue. "But something's wrong there! I can tell! There has to be someone better for him here!! I- I'll find a better datemate for him!" They cry bravely, and then they see Sans's dark look and they gulp. "B-but no, you're right, Sans," They're lying through their teeth, "I- I won't interfere." Another lie.

Sans sighs. He's supposed to meet Asgore for a date in five minutes. He doesn't have time or energy to tan their hide. "you better not, kiddo." He says finally. He might as well let them make whatever mistake they want to make, and punish them for it afterwards. Sans has rarely seen Papyrus so happy and relaxed before. Dexi's good for him.

"Hello, Sans." Fuzzball says as Sans collapses in a puddle on the ex-king's couch.

"heya." Sans sighs. Asgore sits down next to him and nuzzles him. "heh, i could use a distraction."

"What kind, dearest?" Asgore hums. "Tea?"

"i, uh, actually was thinking the other kind."

"Oh." Asgore's muzzle parts in a greedy grin. "I don't believe I'm busy at all."

"so, uh, what-"

"What would _you_ like?" Asgore purrs into his skull. Sans shivers.

"uh, maybe just- touch me. lick me. let me touch you."

Asgore sheds his robe with the flick of a button and then gently undoes Sans's uniform. "Like this?" He says as his paws roll across Sans's ribcage, leaving flutters of heat in the soft furry wake. "Now, what has you all disturbed? Do I need to kill anyone?"

"nah, i'm just- just worried." Sans admits. "my bro's happy for the first time in- _forever_, and i don't want anyone to take that away from him."

"Your brother certainly sounds like a fantastic person." Asgore licks Sans's sternum with his rough strong tongue, making the skeleton moan.

"h-he is, ohh, f-fuzzball," Sans stutters as Asgore finds his spine and massages it gently with one hand as the other travels up his femur to his pelvis.

The two have a game they play. It's called _pretend_. Pretend everything is fine and they're just two old men pleasuring each other for the heck of it, no love involved. Pretend Toriel doesn't exist. Pretend Asgore didn't rule as a tyrant over his kingdom. Pretend Asgore didn't abuse the shit out of Undyne. Pretend Asgore likes Papyrus instead of being afraid of the younger's ambitious nature. The list goes on and on and on.

Some things won't be ignored, though. Like the adorable way Asgore wheezes when he's asleep. Or the way he lights up when Sans makes tea. Sans cares for the old guy, much as he hates to admit it. He cares for the kid, too. Maybe that's why he was so mad at them when they wanted to steal Papyrus's happiness away.

After napping in the pleasant afterglow of sex with Asgore for a couple hours, Sans decides to check on Papyrus. He pulls on his uniform and then teleports silently into his brother's room.

Papyrus hums as he makes coffee in the small kitchenette that all officer quarters have. He looks up with a grin when Sans plops onto the couch. "Hello, Brother."

Sans relaxes. "hey, bro."

Papyrus doesn't complain like he usually does, only wincing slightly. "If you're worried about me dating-"

"nah, i'm glad for ya, bro." Sans says. "it's a good way to get your mind off things."

A frown struggles onto Papyrus's skull. "I don't _want_ my mind off things." He growls. Sans tenses. His bro has a short fuse and a blazing temper, just more things that will never change. "Dexi- She-" He shakes his head. "She's kind. _Too_ kind. I'm not good for her. I have to break it off."

Sans's grin fades. "but bro, she makes ya happy."

"She does," Papyrus agrees with a grimace. "And I don't like it."

"no. bro, you can't turn away from a good thing just cause you feel like you don't deserve it. for one, my great and powerful bro definitely deserves happiness." Sans scolds. "an' dexi's a good thing for ya. don't throw her away."

Papyrus huffs and sips his mug of coffee after putting thirteen sugars in with no cream. "What do you suggest, then??"

"give it a week or two. let things progress. if she ain't good for ya, then sure, you can break it off, but i don't wanna hear any of this nonsense about you being afraid you'll hurt her. if she's strong, she can hold her own. and if she's weak, then she'll bail." Sans nods, having dispensed his sage advice, and now tired from a full day's work. "i'm, uh, gonna sleep now."

"Wonderful." Papyrus replies, sounding oddly dull and resigned.

* * *

When Sans is fast asleep on Papyrus's couch, the younger sibling huffs and drops a blanket over his brother. He turns to his bedside table and grabs his gloves. He never leaves the room without them, although lately Dexi has been attempting to make him take them off. Resentment curls in. She's a welcome distraction from the pain of leaving behind his home and the guilt and anger of losing several ships and hundreds of crews. But that's all she is. A distraction. The first flutters of crushing affection have faded since he started dating her. And it only ever returns when she's touching him.

He yanks his leather gloves on with an almost defiant air and then stomps out of his quarters to go to the bridge. "At Ease." He says when his officers stand at attention. An odd sense of relief comes over him when he doesn't see Dexi among them. He turns to go into his office.

"Sir!" Lieutenant Suzy bounces over to him. The leopard-like miriel's tail lashes with concern. "Sir, weren't you just in your office? We heard noises-"

Papyrus shushes her, then stalks to his office door and slams it open. The grate to the ants' nest clangs shut. Bracken stands alone behind Papyrus's desk, eyes wide. "G-golly, Papyrus-"

"SAVE IT." Papyrus snaps and scans the room in search of the prank. "WHERE'S RYUK??"

"Wow, Rus, paranoid, aren't you." Bracken hums. "It's just little old me, I'm afraid."

Papyrus gives the grate a suspicious glare. "You Two Have Been Getting Into Far Too Much Trouble." He grumbles.

Bracken steps around the desk and gestures with a wide shrug and a grin. "Golly, relax, there's no prank this time. I just came to talk."

"Oh?" Papyrus steps inside carefully, then slides the door shut behind himself with equal caution. Nothing happens. Bracken is probably a distraction while Ryuk executes the actual prank somewhere else.

"I heard you're dating." Bracken says, smirking.

Papyrus wants to be angry. He wants to vent all his frustrations to his old flowery friend. But all he feels is simmering volcanic wrath deep below a crust of exhaustion. "Yes." He says and collapses into his seat, pressing a hand to his temples. "It Doesn't Matter."

"Hm." Bracken rubs his neck. "What does, then? What can your best friend help out with?"

Papyrus lets out a huff that chokes into an overwhelmed sob. _Commodore K'talla_._ Lieutenant Jazz_. Just more names. Just more dead bodies among thousands. "They're all _dead_." He hisses, struggling to turn the grief to fury. "They're all _DEAD_ AND I _COULDN'T_ _SAVE_ THEM- and Undyne is acting LIKE _NOTHING HAPPENED_!!" His volume fluctuates as he strives to control it, not wanting to alert his officers.

Bracken tuts softly. "Papyrus, is dating someone really healthy at this stage?"

Papyrus snorts in bitter amusement. "No." He says. "But since when has that stopped me??" Mettaton. Frisk. Bracken nee Asriel. Others. He has a history of trying to find relief in romance, but it's never worked. But Dexi- she wants to fix him. Maybe she'll even succeed, if he lets her.

"Golly." Bracken sits on Papyrus's lap, resting his head in the skeleton's scarf. "You could have come to me, Rus, you know I'd help you."

"You betrayed me." Papyrus snarls, unwillingly relaxing as his best friend's weight holds him down. Bracken's hand tightens around his wrists.

"Look, yeah, I helped Frisk capture you. But I had literally no choice in the matter." Bracken whines. "She told me she would delete Chara if I didn't, and- she- she promised she could transfer Chara's soul to mine if I did. You know how much they mean to me."

"Frisk always lies." Papyrus growls. "She told me a while ago that she deleted Chara."

"Haha." Bracken lets out a small laugh that understates the anger Papyrus can read in his eyes. "That would be just like her."

"So what do we do?" Papyrus asks, desperately hoping his old friend has an answer.

"Get back and make her change the timeline. Make her forget her foolish family reunion." Bracken says. "And if she won't. Then I'll take her soul and I'll do it myself." His voice is hard with determination.

"Good plan." Papyrus allows. "But how will we even return?"

"I- I dunno." Bracken huffs. "Ryuk, any ideas?"

"WHAT??" Papyrus tries to stand up, but Bracken has him firmly restrained. "YOU LIED TO ME!!"

"Is that really surprising, Rus?" Bracken hums. "Undyne's totally cool with the fact her people killed your people. Frisk _literally _captured her entire family and got them stuck in another galaxy. And your brother- is creepy. Your family is fucked up, Papyrus, you can't deny that, haha."

"Maybe I Don't Want To Be In This Family Anymore." Papyrus can't help the bitterness that bleeds into his tone.

Bracken laughs at that, then calls, "C'mon, Ryuk, get out here while I still have him bound!" Silence responds. Bracken huffs and gets up, letting Papyrus loose, and then goes to the grate and looks inside. "Golly, they're gone."

"You've been abandoned, it seems. Don't take it personally." Papyrus scoffs outwardly, but inwardly wonders if the troublemaker was actually being thoughtful in giving him and Bracken privacy. They have to have at least _average_ EQ if they've been accepted by the crew as the counselor.

"Golly, okay. Bye, Rus." Bracken bleps and then ducks into the ants' nest. "Lucky for them, I'm good with directions!"

"Goodbye, Bracken." Papyrus responds. He doesn't feel any better; Bracken has been worse than useless.

A comlink opens from the _Alaco_, Undyne's flagship. "Hey, punk!!" She cries cheerfully.

Papyrus glowers sullenly. "What Do You Want."

Undyne frowns. "Fuhu, that's no way to treat your superior officer!!"

"You're Only _That_ Until I Defeat You." Papyrus retorts. "But Fine. What's The Plan?"

"Conquer this wimpy-ass galaxy and rule it!!" Undyne cheers.

Papyrus performs a magnificent facepalm to emphasize how _done_ he is with her shenanigans. "I _Mean_," He hisses, "For Getting _Home_."

"Fuhuhu!! Why'd you wanna go back there??" Undyne demands. "What's the Milky Way ever done for you??"

"I _HAD A LIFE_ THERE!! And So Did You!!" Papyrus says, furious at how she can be so flippant about everything.

"Listen, Paps." She says. "Nobody likes the Milky Way."

"_I_ Do!" He snarls. "And I Know _MOST_ Of My Starmas And Officers Who Have Families And Friends There That They Were Forced To Leave Behind!!" And if he can get back to the Milky Way, maybe Frisk can reset again and fix everything she ruined.

"And what're you gonna do when we get back, huh? Keep being a dog for the Republic?? You should join the Alliance. We'd treat you better."

"Oh, _Sure_. For About A Month. And Then The _Culls_ Start." Papyrus retorts.

"It weeds out the weak!! Look at your fleet, so many of your people _died_ because they weren't strong enough to face mine, who have each survived hundreds of culls!!" Undyne cries. "Those who can't fight don't deserve to live."

Papyrus's fists clench. Then he turns away from the holographic projection. "You Haven't Changed A Bit." Here he'd almost forgotten why they went separate ways. But the reason's always been simple. Both had different ideals, different methods, and the same ambitions. There wasn't enough room for the two of them.

"Fuhuhu, neither have you, punk." She laughs. "Come on, Papyrus. Change is for the _weak_, for those who can't _force_ their world to change around them!!"

The conversation continues as Undyne changes the subject to the diminishing life support supplies: food, water, and atmosphere. Undyne's navigators found a star system a few hundred light years away that has three M class planets according to scans. "So get your ass in gear and warp on outta here!" She cries, pumping her fist in the air.

"Yes, Sir." Papyrus responds. And at least she's making an attempt to care for the crews under her command. He just hopes that the new rule of dueling to hop up in rank doesn't lead to the more sinister rule of culling the loser.

* * *

Undyne claps her hands with glee as her fleet of fourteen ships descends into orbit around the fourth M class planet. It's hidden from the scans for some reason, so it must have sentient life on it, and Undyne can't wait to give that sentient life a good old-fashioned one-two.

She orders teams from each ship to go down to the planet and explore the different biomes. There seems to be three main ones: ravine-pocked steppes, vine-covered savannas, and shallow oceans that stretch for miles. So far no signs of sentience, but maybe they're in hiding.

Slamming the door to her quarters open wide, she shouts inside to Alphys, "BABE!! Get your things, we're going on vacation!!"

There's a crashing noise as Undyne steps inside. Then _Mettaton_ of all people leaps out from under the bed and fires his rockets to jump over her head and get to the door. She grabs him and slams him down. "What the fuck did you do to Alphys, bastard son of a lugnut??"

"H-he was g-going to kill me, Undyne." Alphys sobs, stepping out from the kitchenette and holding a blowtorch.

Mettaton shrieks and struggles in vain to escape. "No-o-o, I ju-u-ust want my freedo-do-dom!!"

Undyne lets go of Mettaton, since something's not adding up. "Babe, where'd he even come from??"

"M-my inventory." Alphys mutters. Mettaton brushes himself off and then stomps out the door. "N-no, wait, come back!!" Alphys races after him.

Undyne huffs in annoyance. She doesn't like Mettaton, but she has to respect him, and Alphys has never been good to the poor android. So she storms after the two of them, easily outpacing Alphys. "Where're you going, toaster??"

"If yo-ou have a cr-craft, I-I-I will take tha-at!!" Mettaton cries.

"Fuhuhu, two birds with one stone, I like your style!" Undyne cackles and leads him to the hangar. Alphys pants as she struggles to keep up, the blowtorch still in hand. Mettaton has enough time to choose the classiest runabout, figure out how to drive it, and then blast out of the hangar, all before Alphys can even reach Undyne.

"Y-you lost him." Alphys grumbles, out of breath. "N-now who's g-going to ki-"

Undyne cuts her off with a smooch, not wanting to know. "Grab your things, Al, and report back here PRONTO! We're visiting the very first planet of a NEW GALAXY!!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, lovelies!
> 
> Ask me any questions, posit any predictions, I'd love to hear what you all think!! All comments are welcome and encouraged!! It always makes me really happy to get even one small comment from random strangers :)


	6. Consume Your Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lovely commenter inspired me to make a glossary, since the terms might be hard to pick up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glossary: 
> 
> Species: (all mostly humanoid in form) 
> 
> Uiloth- Parrot-like leaders of the Republic of Teryn. The word came from Quenya: uir-loth (eternal blossom)
> 
> Adani - humans. Quenya meaning man.
> 
> Sedryn - monsters. Quenya meaning faithful
> 
> Meryn - pangolin-like (if you don't what a pangolin is, they're basically anteaters with large scales, and they're super cute). Again, Quenya. Means festive.
> 
> Curunir - empathic species, looks like a nervous system inside clear flesh. Okay, so all of these are from Quenya. This one is wizard.
> 
> Miriel - cat-like. The word is changed slightly from myril, which means cat
> 
> Amlyg - naga/snake-like. Original Quenya word was emlyg, which means serpents.
> 
> Dagnir - fox-like. Taken from daug, which means warrior.
> 
> Galvorn - vulture-like. The word means black metal.
> 
> Garthaglaw - multiple forms, insect-like, most common is beetle-like. Two words smashed together, meaning defend radiance.
> 
> Other terms: 
> 
> Starma - basically, a non-officer crew-person. Sometimes, when referring to all crew on a ship including officers, the word 'star-mate' will be used instead. Starma can be a shortening of star-mate, but I actually got it from combining 'star' with my conlang's word for 'heart': rama. 
> 
> Alliance of Harthad - one of two major intragalactic governments in the Milky Way. Undyne and her fleet were allied with them. 'Harthad' means hope in Quenya. 
> 
> Republic of Teryn - the other major intragalactic government in the Milky Way. Papyrus and his fleet worked for them. I don't remember where I got 'teryn' from, but my notes say 'heryn' means fine lady, so maybe I just switched the 'h' with a 't'.

Luon sniffs the air with his muzzle open and his fangs slightly unsheathed. MK leaps out of the runabout onto the solid ground without waiting to sniff about. He lands with a roll and pops up back onto his feet with the help of his tail. Luon slithers down beside him. "Yoo." MK breathes in amazement as he stares at the brilliant blues and greens of the ravines curving all around the runabout.

"I don't like it." Luon mutters.

"You can't _see_ it, yo." MK replies.

Luon, unamused, flicks his tail. "There's no smells. At all. Doesn't that strike you as odd, Doctor? Especially considering this planet doesn't exist on any of our scans."

"Lighten up." MK bumps his shoulder against Luon's side. "It's not like this is all holographic or whatever."

"No, you're right," Luon sighs. "A holograph of this size and density would be far too complex for any computer smaller than a sun. It's more likely that we're under an illusion in our last breaths and we're about to die in the cold unforgiving vacuum of space."

"Real fun at parties, you are." MK retorts. "But anyway!"

"Yes, but anyway. Who is this Alphys person we're looking for anyway?"

"She's the creepy royal scientist." He says. "She invented glamours." Someone slipped a note under his office door the other day with just her name on it.

"I see." Luon muses. "Is that her over there? She smells like grease and mad science." He nods in the direction of a tent down in the ravine being erected by Undyne while Alphys paces around.

"Yo, I love you!!" MK cries and races off, skidding down the slope and balancing himself with his tail. Luon catches up to him easily, catching him before he can slam headfirst into a rock.

"Please don't kill yourself before I can return the sentiment, Doctor." Luon says.

"Haha, come on, let's go!" MK and Luon weave through the growing bustle of crewmen setting up equipment.

Alphys mutters to herself beside a hastily created table piled high with random tech and samples. "Oh, hi." She says absently as MK approaches.

"Yo, Alphys, can you make me a new glamour??" MK demands.

"What c-can you g-give me?" Alphys responds. "I- I can make it, b-but I need payment."

MK glares at her. "Frisk destroyed mine!"

"Th-that's too bad. I still want p-payment." She retorts.

"It was inventor failure, wasn't it." Luon muses. Both sedryn give him a sharp look.

"Yo, what?"

"It was destroyed because it was a _weak design_." Luon explains. "Cheap, yet probably cost you a fortune the first time you got it."

"Yeah-"

"I d-don't see what you're g-getting at." Alphys says, wringing her claws nervously.

"I mean to say that _you_ owe _him_, Alphys. Not the other way around. So, if you create the second version of the glamour, only this time making it harder to destroy, and more efficient with magic usage, along with other conditions I would love to spell out for you in a design report, and if you give a beta version of this glamour two-point-oh to the good doctor here and he's pleased with it, I don't see how you need payment."

MK stares in awe at his clever friend. "Yoooo, you're right!!" He cries.

Alphys scowls and crosses her arms. "I'm the- the only person in th-this _galaxy_ who c-can make you a n-new glamour, so I don't see why you're tr-trying to _blackmail_ me."

"Hey, punks!!" Undyne leaps over the table and Alphys wails as the samples crash to the ground. "Oops, sorry, babe."

"Undyne!!" MK cries happily. "Yo, tell Alphys to make me a glamour!!"

"Babe, why the- _heck_ aren't you making this punk a new glamour, huh??" Undyne turns to Alphys with a cheerful glare.

"Uh- uh-"

"Actually, could you teach me how to do it?" Luon says. "I would love to learn."

"It- it's ritualized magic." She mutters.

"I see. I am a mage, so that's not a problem."

"Yo, you are??"

"It's also not important."

Undyne laughs wildly. "Fuhu, alright, you adorable punks, my babe here will teach you two lovebirds how to make a glamour, and in return, you help her gather samples while she's down here!!"

"Deal!" MK says before Luon can try to bargain more. He appreciates Luon's cleverness in getting the payment rescinded, but he knows Undyne won't be swayed as easily. And then his muzzle heats when he realizes what Undyne called them. He opens his mouth to protest that they're _not_ lovebirds, but Luon's hand on his shoulder stops him.

"Give us a list of the samples and ingredients, and we'll gather them up." Luon says.

"Of- of course." Alphys grumbles and retreats into her tent.

"So." Undyne says, grinning. "How long has this been going on? Don't worry, I'm all for romance in the ranks, fuhuhu!!"

Before MK can disillusion her, Luon parts his jaws, sensing the air as he says, "Oh, around a month or two." MK's muzzle heats. He knows Luon is lying and there's never been anything between them.

Undyne sits on the table. "Well?? Are you gonna tell me the story or not??"

MK looks to Luon. But the crafty amlyg only responds by innocently nuzzling MK's cheek. "Mil-Gwedh?"

"U-uh- funny story, yo," MK laughs nervously, fire spreading from where Luon's muzzle touched him. "We ran into each other, you see? Like, literally! Yo, and we accidentally kissed, and, uh. Yeah." He's sure Undyne won't buy it, and he's not even sure why he's lying to the person who used to be his hero, but Luon must have a reason for it.

And Undyne seems to swallow the story. "Fuhuhu!! I'm so happy to see all my little punks have found _PASSION_!! Did you hear Papyrus is dating one of his officers?? They're always going around holding hands, it's so fu-reaking adorable!!"

Luon shares a glance with MK. "Yo, we know." MK says darkly. Papyrus never bothered to check on him after the conflict. Yeah, the ex-admiral has been understandably busy, but MK still harbors bitterness that Papyrus didn't even spare ten minutes for his former apprentice. He hopes to run into and confront Papyrus down here. Maybe he'll even force an apology from the arrogant negligent skeleton.

* * *

"Golly, so boring." Bracken groans as he plops onto the seat beside Ryuk's. The runabout should be shaking through turbulent atmosphere, but it smoothly drops down instead, with nary a bump. "When do we get there??"

"Two hours." Ryuk grins at him and yawns, stretching out their arms. "No fear, my villainous comrade, we'll be able to prank _everyone_ down there."

"Khuhahaha." Bracken chuckles evilly. "Perfect."

"So." Ryuk says. "What, uh, what did Papyrus tell you about him and Dexi?"

"Why are you so concerned?" Bracken asks. "Not that I care, I think it's cute-" Ryuk grimaces at that like they want to protest and Bracken grins, "-but you don't seem to like him that much."

"I don't." They mutter. "It's just- that- what Dexi's doing to him- it reminds me of my mom."

"Was your mom a curunir?" Bracken's so bored, he's willing to listen to any story, especially if it's as juicy as theirs promises to be.

"No." They say in a low voice, and laugh nervously. "She, uh, she was Aggelos."

Bracken frowns. He's never heard of that species before. "And?"

"And she- she, uh, created me to- to _love_ her." Bitterness and fear combine in Ryuk's quiet words to make the tone caustic. "I- I _hated_ loving her so much that one day- I killed myself."

Bracken groans. "Golly, death is so boring, though. Why didn't you run?"

They smile. It isn't pleasant. "I _did_."

They don't seem to want to say any more, but Bracken is intrigued. "How'd you do that if you were dead??"

"She recreated me and added more rules." They mumble tersely. "Heh. So I ran."

"So are you an adani?"

"I shouldn't be." Ryuk says bitterly.

"What's that supposed to mean??"

They huff and throw their head back. "I don't want to talk about it."

Bracken grins. "Tell me about Aggelos, then. What're they??"

"Ancestors of sedryn. Keep to themselves like arrogant jackasses. _Anything_ else??" They're getting annoyed. Good. An annoyed Ryuk is fun to play with.

"So your mom was all like, _love me~_, and you were like _nah_, so you killed yourself?? Do you realize how dumb that sounds??" Bracken pokes their open wound without gloves or anesthetic. It's his favorite pastime besides pissing off Sans.

"Shut up." They grumble. "You weren't there."

"Pretend I was." Bracken leans on them. "What would I do?" They shrug silently, glaring at the roof of the runabout. "Come on, Ryuk. I'm so booooorrred. Amuse me!"

Ryuk huffs again, louder. "_Fuck_ you, you wouldn't do a damn thing except laugh at me!"

Bracken smirks. "That's what I _am_ doing, so good start."

"Aggelos are dicks." They mutter. "I see where all you sedryn get it from."

Bracken sits up in mock offense. "How dare you!!"

They raise an eyebrow at him. His eyes widen as he realizes they _shouldn't know_ that he's sedryn. Since he's wearing a glamour. Fuck. "Okay, how'd you do that??"

"Do what?" They ask innocently.

"Trick me into admitting I'm sedryn and not a hot adani." Bracken doesn't growl, not yet; he won't threaten Ryuk unless they're difficult.

They open up a hand to reveal one of his earrings. He grabs for it but they smirk and hold it out of his reach. "Nuh-uh, you were mean to me."

"Give it back, bastard!" Bracken snarls.

"Hmm, nah." Ryuk winks, and then kisses his cheek, their other hand running through his hair. "Cutie." They hiss into his ear.

He roars wordlessly and slams his head into theirs, but his brow meets metal as they slide to the floor. "Give it back!!" He shouts, rubbing his forehead.

The runabout pilot yells for them to quiet down. Bracken growls low in his throat, glaring at Ryuk, who now has two emerald crystal earrings in their hands. They smirk at him. "Well? Are you going to apologize?"

He stands up and their smirk falls to trepidation as they flinch back a step. His thorn-knuckled fists clench, the vines of his muscles writhing beneath the fur of white petals. "Ryuk." He rumbles in a low tenor. "Give them back."

"Y-yeah, alright." They hand the glamour over obediently. Bracken grabs their wrist in his powerful grip and they cringe.

"Hmm, golly, I think it's a shame to let you get away scot free."

"It- it's more of a shame that your parents let you walk around naked." Ryuk snorts, then cowers again as Bracken yanks them closer. "N-not funny? I thought it was kinda funn-" Bracken cuts their insolent mouth off with a sharp blow to their solar plexus. They wheeze and crumple. "_Ow_."

"Golly, you sure are an idiot for pissing me off." Bracken grins, baring his hickory-thorn teeth wide.

"S-sorry!" They whimper. Funny how a bit of pain can reduce most adani to begging. "C-can we just prank people and forget this happened? Please?" They plead, their eyes wet with weak tears.

Bracken considers this. "Alright, I suppose I'll forgive you this once. But no more fucking around with your partner in crime, or I'll give you _such_ a smack-down." He puts his glamour back on, returning to his adani form.

"Okay. It- it won't happen again." They say and smile.

When the runabout _finally_ reaches the landing site, Ryuk and Bracken get out. They'd discussed different pranks to play, but the best bet seems to be- "Ryuk, what the fuck is wrong with you??" Bracken grumbles as Ryuk tumbles to the ground, eyes blank, their body trembling. He kicks them and they roll a few feet.

It's probably another idiotic scheme of theirs, so he yanks them up by the throat to punch them again. "You asked for this, idiot." He growls. They remain listless and unresponsive as he draws his fist back and drives it into their abdomen. They don't even flinch. He drops them again upon realizing something is actually wrong with them. Fear slams into him. If he's found with their dead body, he could be accused of killing them.

Then they moan and twitch. Bracken kneels down beside them and shakes them. "Ryuk!!" He cries crocodile tears. "Wake up!! Don't die!! Breathe, Ryuk!!"

"D-dude." They grumble faintly. "Y-you're such a moron."

Bracken glowers at them. "What happened??"

They struggle to their feet. "Land sickness." They say lightly. "Happens to adani a lot. Now, what's the plan?"

* * *

Sans yawns as he trudges onto the bridge. He was awoken by the security chief trying to reach someone to make Toriel and Frisk stop yelling at each other, but he really doesn't want to deal with those two bitches just yet. The coms officer--uhhh, name of Dexi--glances up from her console. "Sir, I was just about to call you. These aliens have been trying to talk to us."

"oh? okay, where are they?"

"It's audio only, so I- I can't get a reading on them." She says, glowing orange in annoyance.

"it'll be fine. you're a linguist. so linguistics the shit outta it." Sans winks. He'd rather be chilling on the planet with his bro and everyone else, and he's pretty sure Dexi feels the same way. But the fleet can't be left unmanned.

"Maybe I can help!" Lieutenant Suzy skips up, waving her slender tail with excitement. She's the tactics officer, but she's always been eager to butt in on the ambassadorial side of things. Sans has been priming her to take his spot. Heh. She's a leopard, though, so she already has _all_ the spots. Heh heh. Papyrus would hate that one.

"alright, suzy, knock yourself out." Sans says. He yawns again and plops onto his little bro's chair. "so, anything yet, kids?"

Dexi flickers orange again, probably annoyed at being called a kid. Heh, Sans doesn't need to be a mind-reader to know he can be irritating as hell. "We're parsing words that sound related." She says. "But there's no context to tell us what anything _means_."

"where's their ship?"

"I don't know!" She snaps, flashing red anger, then green guilt. "Sorry, sir."

"eh, it's fine. Paps rubbing off on ya?"

Suzy yells happily before Dexi can reply. "I got it!! Look, they're saying _danger_ here!! And- and this one is _planet_!!"

"danger- planet." Sans repeats in a low voice. "ya think they're tryna tell us something?"

Dexi throws up her hands, flaring red and orange. "There's so many other words, it could mean anything!" She complains. "There could be a specific planet they don't want us going to, or a specific race on a specific planet to avoid, there's just no way to tell without reading their intentions!"

"calm down. okay. get the other ships together and try to parse out the rest. we've got time. and suzy, warn undyne to be careful, just in case."

"You think she'll listen?"

"good point. warn Paps."

Suzy sends a call down to Papyrus, who responds almost immediately. "_Yes_?" He sounds peeved.

"Admir- I mean, Commodore Papyrus!" Suzy cries and tells him about the translation in progress.

"Keep me posted. Don't tell Undyne." Papyrus replies tersely. "If she hears there's aliens up there, she'll want to destroy them."

"Yes, sir!!" Suzy salutes.

"bro, you doing okay?" Sans asks.

"I'm Fine." Papyrus says tersely. "And Don't Call Me That." The comlink ends abruptly. Sans sighs, annoyed at his bro, but he might as well check on the two bitches in the brig.

So he pops down and sits. The two bitches ignore him completely, raging at one another.

"wow, i shoulda brought popcorn." He notes.

"Shut up!!" Frisk shouts.

Toriel cries, "Silence, hellspawn!!"

"yer talking to her, right?"

Both of them glare at him at the exact same time. Toriel's ears flop on her shoulders with the speed of her head-spin, and her muzzle wrinkles to bare her teeth. Frisk's always been a bit chubby, but she's really filled out over the years, her stubby fingers thick and shaking with anger as she flips him off.

"Fuck off, Sansy!" Frisk yells.

"Language, Frisk." Toriel chides.

"Oh, shut the fuck up, you shitty overbearing goat!!" Frisk stomps her feet like a spoiled child in dire need of a good thrashing.

"welp, you two seem to have things under control here. so, bye."

"Let us out!!" Toriel cries.

"hm. nah." Sans winks at her.

"If we were ever friends, I swear, Sans-" Toriel cries.

"were we?" Sans muses. "nah, i don't think so."

Toriel stares at him with confusion and hurt. Frisk slams her fist on the wall and shouts, "Sansy, you bitch, apologize!!"

"for what? telling an old goat i kept ya alive to spite her wishes?"

"Ugh, Mom, I still can't believe you told him to kill me!!"

"You left me, Chara!!" Toriel shouts back. "What was I supposed to do??"

Frisk throws her hands up. "Oh, _literally anything else_!! And for the last fucking time, I'm _Frisk_, not fucking _Chara_!! Chara is _gone_, okay??"

"so wait, you're frisk, but- but you're _not_ fucking chara, right? so you were fucking chara at one point? when does the fuckery end? are there no fucklenuts in all this madness?"

Toriel screams and slams her head into the door. Frisk groans and hides her face. "Go away, Sans."

"Please, leave us."

"You shut up!!"

"No, you silence yourself!!"

As the conversation doesn't seem to be evolving past petty jabs and angry nonsense, Sans leaves. He plops into his bed, missing Fuzzball's weight and warmth. The ex-king left to go down to the planet.

Toriel's always been crueler than necessary to the old goat, considering that her stifling method of parenting caused her two kids to commit suicide and then, unable to face it, she abandoned Asgore and ran away to the Ruins. She and Asgore were never kind rulers in the first place, but Asgore only got worse after she left, since he was unused to the weight of ruling by himself. He passed the kill or be killed edict mere days after Toriel left, the plan being to turn the entire nation into an army. Sans wasn't there for him either, lost in time since his project malfunctioned and flung him and his baby brother into the future.

Enter _Frisk_, who was a teen when she fell. Sans knows that doesn't make any of it okay. She was put through hell. But at least she could resurrect and alter the flow of time. And now she doesn't even have that.

He doesn't feel sorry for her, though. The amount of timelines that just _ended_ on his machine's reader are indicative of a different story than the one she's always trying to feed to her family. She kept them down there for literal years. And then they finally convinced her to stop and let time continue. But she still controlled everyone. It grew harder for her with the introduction of aliens and the galactic empires. She lost contact with most of her family as they spread out. Until now. It's been fifteen years since the last breaking of the Barrier. And she's finally gotten everyone together for a family reunion.

Sans brushes the mental dust to the corner to be forgotten, then falls asleep.

* * *

Undyne's screech echoes through the camp. Papyrus shoots a glare at the two miscreants he caught tampering with the scanning equipment. "WHAT ELSE DID YOU DO." He snarls.

Ryuk shares a glance with Bracken. "Nothing." Both say at the same time with nearly convincing fake innocence from Ryuk and a dead giveaway in Bracken's slight smirk.

Papyrus stomps his stylish high-heeled boot on the ground. "I'M NOT PLAYING GAMES. EITHER YOU TWO TELL ME WHAT YOU DID, OR I FLY YOU BACK UP THERE AND THROW YOU BOTH IN THE BRIG FOR A MONTH OR TWO. _THREE_ IF I'M FEELING PARTICULARLY ANNOYED, WHICH I'M STARTING TO."

"Okay, okay, don't be such a _dick_," Ryuk makes a long-suffering sigh, which really isn't fair, since Papyrus is the one forcing himself to be patient. Well, more patient than usual. They list off the pranks and Papyrus starts to relax as it all seems relatively benign. "Oh, and Bracken stuck a tarantula in Alphys's tent." _Never-the-fuck-mind_.

"YOU DID WHAT?!? SHE'S _ALLERGIC_ TO SPIDERS!! YOU GODDAMNED IMBECILES, YOU COULD HAVE _KILLED_ HER!!" He shouts, clenching his leather gauntleted hands into fists.

Ryuk's eyes widen in horror- so they didn't know. "Wh-what??"

Bracken laughs. "Hahaha, that was great, Rus! Way to pretend you care about that bitch!"

"I _DO_." He snarls, anger pumping through his ribs with every breath. "I MAY NOT APPROVE OF HER ACTIONS AND SHE MAY HATE ME, BUT I APPRECIATE HER WORK ETHIC AND I CERTAINLY DON'T WANT MY RIVAL WEAKENED BY HER UNTIMELY DEATH!!"

Bracken glowers. "Yeah. Sure."

Ryuk punches Bracken's arm and he winces. "You didn't tell me!!" They shriek, their eyes starting to tear up. "She- oh stars, she might've _died_!!" They stand up, trembling. "Where's Undyne and Alphys." They demand. "I- _we_ need to apologize. And we'll clean up all the pranks!! P-Papyrus, I'm really sorry!" 

Papyrus scowls at them and they drop their eyes guiltily. "Bracken Will Clean Up The Pranks And Apologize To Undyne." He decides. "While You Will Go To Alphys And Get Her More Samples, Since They Broke Again Due To Another Prank." 

"O-okay."

"_WHAT_ WAS THAT??" He looms over them.

"_Eep_, I mean- y-yes, sir!" They squeak.

"BETTER. NOW GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY SIGHT." He snaps. "NOT YOU, BRACKEN."

Ryuk ducks quickly out of the tent. He's letting them off easy since they showed remorse, but Bracken still glowers unrepentantly. "WELL??"

"They're such a weirdo." Bracken laughs suddenly. "I see why you hate them, Papyrus."

"I Don't-" He stops himself from protesting the point. "That's Not The Issue."

"You think they're a freak, too, right? You're right." Bracken grins wide, his signature digging-for-juicy-drama look. "Guess wha-"

"SHUT UP AND APOLOGIZE ALREADY!!" Papyrus cries, stomping his foot again. "OR I'LL LET _UNDYNE_ DEAL WITH YOU!!"

Bracken gulps. "Uh- Oh, geee, I'm sooo sorry, Papyrus, I'll do anything you want me to~ like that?" He smirks.

Papyrus indulges in his own long-suffering sigh. Then he grabs Bracken by the nape of the neck and drags him out to Undyne. "HERE'S YOUR CULPRIT."

Undyne grins viciously and Papyrus notes the exact moment the realization dawns on Bracken that he's going to get disciplined with the ass-whooping of a lifetime while his partner-in-crime Ryuk gets off with a relatively light slap on the wrist.

Papyrus leaves Bracken to struggle and scream in Undyne's grip as he's thrashed soundly with the haft of a spear. Alphys still shakes, huddled by her table of inventions. Ryuk kneels beside her and apologizes, then the two hug each other. Papyrus hangs back, not wanting to ruin Alphys's moment with her friend. He and Undyne have both given her another chance even after hearing of all her sins, but she still hates him for some reason.

Then they part and Alphys gives Ryuk a tablet. Papyrus approaches and Alphys's relative relief fades into a scowl. "P-Papyrus." She mutters.

"Alphys." He replies stiffly. Ryuk doesn't meet his eyes.

"D-don't be hard on them." Alphys orders, slinging an arm over their shoulders. "Th-they weren't trying to k-kill me."

"If you've forgiven them, then it's all stardust to me." He says.

Alphys nods. Papyrus nods back. He longs to ask why he's so distasteful to her, but he stays silent on that matter. "Why don't _you_ like him??" Ryuk pipes up instead, which only serves to confuse Papyrus.

He knows why Ryuk doesn't like him. It's the same reasons he sometimes doesn't like himself very much. But he's always ignored those feelings of disappointed self-hatred and shoved them away to be forgotten in favor of lifting himself up with external arrogance. Alphys, though, would have to be a hypocrite to hate him, since she's done worse things.

Alphys glares at Papyrus. "Because he's always hurting Undyne!" She accuses, and he knows exactly what she means but restrains his flinch. "He hurts everyone he touches! He abuses his own brother, for crying out loud!! And poor Toriel is psychotic but he's so cruel to her, and Frisk is broken and hurting and they both need a therapist instead of an executioner and yet he locks both up in the _brig_! So, yeah, I _hate_ you because you're so _blind_ and _complacent_ and ignorant of how badly other people are being hurt around and by you!!" She doesn't stutter once. Irritated, Papyrus wonders how long she's been bottling that rant up.

"I- I Don't Abuse Sans." He finds the capacity to respond calmly. Before she can retort, he huffs. "And I Fail To See How _You're_ In Any Position To Judge Me For _Hurting_ People, Whether Or Not You're Correct."

Alphys grumbles something under her breath. Ryuk shuffles like they're uncomfortable, like they feel intrusive. "But I Apologize For Hurting Undyne." He growls, remembering their advice. It's harder to say it to Alphys, even though he means it. "Allow Me To Assist With Regaining Samples, And If You Have Any Suggestions As To What We Should Do With Frisk And Toriel, I Will Hear Them."

"Let them out of- of the br-brig." She demands. "C-call Sans right now and- and tell him to l-let them out. They n-need therapy, m-medication, n-not imprisonment."

Anger stirs again in his ribs when he thinks of what Frisk did to him. His fists clench. "I'll Consider It." He finally grits out. "Later."

Alphys scoffs and turns away. "F-fine."

Papyrus takes the tablet as Ryuk silently offers it to him, their expression unreadable. He leads the way into the ravines.

"I'm sorry." They mumble when he's out of earshot from the camp.

Perhaps it doesn't mean anything other than them apologizing again for the tarantula, for nearly killing another member of Papyrus's family. But the simple _I'm sorry_ bleeds into all their transgressions: the cowardice, the smartassery, the mutiny. And it bleeds through the things they're not responsible for, the things they had no control over: the conflict, the wormhole, the deaths. Tears sting at his sockets as his soul pounds through his spine, struggling to contain all the grief and anger and guilt. He feels as though he might explode from the maelstrom.

"I Forgive You."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's reading!! And special thanks to my commenters, because feedback gives me life!!


	7. Hoping

You're jolted out of your thoughts when he replies. But you can hardly say you weren't talking to him. You can't tell him you didn't mean to say that out loud. *_Smart move, little dragon, HmHm._*

The voice curls around your mind, a menacing boa injecting thoughts with a sharp itching needle like a mosquito. It doesn't crush you again with an overflow of data, not yet, not like it did when you first encountered it. It only laughs at your fear. It entered your mind as soon you set foot on this planet. And it won't leave.

Every time you try to say something about the voice, to tell someone, your tongue locks up with enforced terror. The voice has gotten angrier with you the more you try to fight against it, so you finally gave up and apologized to it in an effort to placate it. It won't let you consider running away, either, but even so, Undyne has forbidden anyone from leaving the planet. So there's really nothing you can do except pretend the voice doesn't exist.

"P-Papyrus." You venture carefully, relieved when the voice allows you to continue with what you want to say. You have another pressing matter to address, besides the weird creepy voice in your head. The voice is relatively harmless. Dexi may not be.

"Yes?" He replies, not turning as he collects a flower from a cliff-clinging vine.

"You- you seem more relaxed." You note. "Dexi-"

"Fucking Stars, If You Plan On Being One More Person To Tell Me How She's So Good For Me-" He growls, surprising you with his vehemence.

"No, she's awful for you, dude." You even have your cards with you, so you can try to find a proper datemate for him after you get back from collecting samples.

He turns, staring at you with _hope_ of all things in his sockets. "You Think So Too??"

"Yeah, duh, she's forcing you to not feel what she doesn't want you to, and only what she does want you to. You seem more relaxed because she's been dampening your emotions. Down here, away from her, hasn't your anger been stronger?"

He frowns and starts walking through the ravine again. "Yes, But It's Always Stronger When She's Not Touching Me. She needs physical touch to affect anything."

"Oh." You say, walking beside him as you're now forced to reevaluate his actions since the day he came for counseling. "So you are starting to be better." He scowls at that. "But not because of her. If anything, she might be holding you back."

"I Thought She Might Be Able To Make Me Stop Hurting People." He admits.

"You're the only one that can change yourself." You tell him what you've told all your patients in counseling. You may not be the best or even trained as a therapist, but you're not afraid to cut past the bullshit. "And- you've been trying, haven't you. Don't let her take credit for your progress, asshole."

His cheekbones tinge slightly pink. "Thank you." He says quietly. "You're the first person to tell me that."

"Uh-" You don't know what to say in response to that. "No problem."

Then he levels a stern frown on you. "But You Have Not Been Taking Your Own Advice."

_Gulp_. "I, uh," You fluster in search of an adequate answer, then settle on lying, "I will, too!" You can't change. Maybe it's possible for him, but never for you. _Thanks, mom._

"Good." He says firmly. "Perhaps You Will Become Bearable To Be Around."

"Hey, now, you didn't hear a single insult from me this entire time!"

"That's- Almost True, Actually." He retorts, then grins with a wicked gleam to his sockets. "I wonder why. Perhaps my charms are simply too powerful to be contained, converting even the staunchest hater of my great self to a suitor!! Nyeh Heh Heh!!"

"Oh, so the jerk is a narcissist, now, too." You retort. "What a shocker. Anyway, I never _hated_ you."

"I never hated you either." He replies, and it's one of those perfect moments hanging in time that can only be ruined by an outside force. "But you _did_ lead my crew in a mutiny." Boom, perfect moment shattered.

"Hey, you were being a dick to everyone and they were all sick of fighting under you, so it woulda happened without my help anyway!"

"My Officers Appreciate Me, Even If Nobody Else Does." He grumbles.

You punch his arm casually and he lets out a warning growl, teetering on the edge of irritated. So you shrug and tell him, "Chillax."

"Why Do You Have To Be So Difficult??"

"Dunno." You shrug again. "Don't take it too personally, I tend to piss off most officers." Except the nice ones, like Esther.

"You Have Issues With Authority, It Seems," He says and the statement makes your heart pound in your throat.

"N-not particularly." You lie as breezily as you can manage, but mom won't let herself be forgotten. "You have issues with being an arrogant asshole, anyway."

"At Least I'm _Trying_." He retorts, stepping too forcefully onto a ledge. The rocks give way under his boot and he slips with a shout. You grab his arm and try to yank him up, but your hand lets go against your will. He tumbles deeper into the ravine, finally slamming against a boulder and remaining limply silent.

The voice laughs maliciously in your mind as you stare in horror down at him. Your hands tremble. "Papyrus?" You call cautiously.

He groans but doesn't move. *_Serves him right._* The voice hisses, almost blending in with your own scattered thoughts. *_He's never done anything but shout and threaten to get his way. You'll see. As soon as he loses control, he'll revert back to the same old asshole._*

"G-Get MK." Papyrus hisses, breaking the voice's hold on you. "Hurry."

And you would, except huge death-white ant-like creatures crawl out of the caves at the bottom of the ravine, their antennas tapping the ground as they creep closer to Papyrus. "Uh- but-"

"Do As I Say!" He snarls.

Instead of obeying, you slide down the steep slope to the boulder he's caught on. "Hold on." You tell him. He grabs on around your shoulders and you start to climb back up the slope. You're a relatively good climber from the good old days of clambering around the engines and other various machinery to hide from officers. It's kinda fun to be on all fours, clawing your way up, pretending you have wings to steady yourself.

The ants chitter angrily beneath you and the voice is oddly silent as it just observes with a hint of smug sadism. You reach the top and foolishly have the hopeful thought that you're safe. But ants appear in front of you, phasing through the smooth blue walls of the ravine. The voice laughs at you.

You slip and skid a few feet down. Papyrus grunts in pain. His ribs are probably busted. An ant grabs your leg and you yelp, kicking it in the mandibles. But that's a mistake, as you don't have wings, so you lose your grip and tumble back down head over heels with Papyrus.

"Damn It, Ryuk, Why Can't You Ever Follow Orders??" Papyrus complains once at the bottom of the ravine. 

"T-told you, I'd- try to- to change." You grit out, wishing you obeyed as it hurts your whole body to talk. "_Ow- _Be-besides, the ants- were coming for- for you."

"True Enough." He allows. Green fire flares around his ribcage. "I Didn't Want To Have To Use All My Energy, But I Suppose I Have To." He gets up and kneels over you as the ants close in.

"What are yo-_agh_-" You choke down a cry of pain as the green fire burns from his hands through your body. But despite the initial hurtiness, it erases your injuries, leaving a comforting warmth behind. He helps you to your feet.

Dozens of the ant-like creatures close in with clicking mandibles and tapping antennas. "STAY BEHIND ME!" He snarls and shoves you back against the wall. A macabre rattling sound fills the air.

You've never seen Papyrus use magic before. You've seen Sans's magic, small bone-shaped bullets that barely ever did any damage except to those who'd done bad things, or the rare dragon-skull blaster you've only seen him use once on an assassin aiming for the admiral. But Papyrus's is _nothing_ like that.

With one hand holding you behind himself and the other holding his talwar in a ready stance, he doesn't even make any gestures to telegraph his patterns. They just appear en masse, tearing through the ants. He has a _lot_ of physical bullets. The realization of just how much dust and blood that must have taken makes you nauseous.

You gag as bile rises in your throat when an ant just _explodes_ from huge jagged bones ripping through it, and its green blood spatters over you and Papyrus. He's a gory and terrifying sight, intense fury etched on his scarred skull, slimy ant blood covering him, white bones stark against the emerald-stained black leather of his jacket and gloves, the only other splash of color being his crimson scarf. A hysterical laugh forces itself out of your lungs, and with it, your stomach heaves and you vomit into the puddles of ant goop.

The ants halt their onslaught for a moment, settling in a wide circle to surround you and him, chittering nervously, scared to face Papyrus's wrath. You wipe your mouth and choke on bile. With every limb and nerve trembling and heart pounding in your ears, you hold onto the bony arm around you for dear life.

"CLIMB UP AND FETCH UNDYNE." He orders.

You look up at the ants crawling over their dead comrades above you. "I- I can't-" You start, sick with terror.

"GODDAMNIT, RYUK, I NEED YOU TO _RUN_!! YOU SEEM TO BE GREAT AT THAT, SO FUCKING _GO_ ALREADY!!" He roars and clears a path with several jagged attacks. You gulp down your fear and start to climb as quickly as you dare up the slope made slippery by blood and viscera.

*_Not so fast_.* The voice hisses in your mind and your hands let go of the holds. You fall with a scream, but before you can smack into the ground, you're caught in a maw filled with sharp teeth that gently cradle around you. The dragon-esque skeleton creature carries you back up the slope, not allowing for the voice to make you fall again. It deposits you at the top of the ledge and then dissipates. You turn to run- and an ant grabs you by the throat and drags you back down again as the voice cackles with malicious joy. Papyrus huffs as he kills the ant and you fall on your butt to the ground, not meeting his glare.

"WELL, THAT WAS A COMPLETE FAILURE." He snaps. "FINE. I SUPPOSE WE'RE FIGHTING OUR WAY OUT."

*_Or you'll be eaten alive._* The voice laughs, knowing it's won already. You shiver and cower behind Papyrus. *_Go ahead, tell him about me. There's nothing either of you can do_.*

"P-Papyrus, there's a-" You don't get to finish the sentence as an ant latches around your throat and cuts off your air. *_Just kidding_.* Papyrus spins and slashes through the ant's thorax with his talwar, soaking you with its slimy green blood. Nauseous horror makes you gag again, but there's nothing left in your stomach to vomit so you fall to your knees as you dry heave over his boots.

He yanks you back onto your feet. "HOLD YOURSELF TOGETHER, SOLDIER." He snaps.

"I'm _not_ a soldier!" You wail, waving your arms to keep them away from the disgusting goop all over your torso.

His glare softens for a moment. "THAT'S TRUE ENOUGH." He admits. "BUT STILL, I NEED YOU TO BE BRAVE. USE THIS IF YOU HAVE TO." He places a sword-like bone bullet in your hands.

You're not sure how to use such a weapon. When an ant tries to grab you again, you close your eyes and swing blindly at it. Wet blood splatters over you again. Whimpering at the grossness, you peek open your eyes to see the ant dead at your feet, its head caved in from another attack from Papyrus. Your sword barely even grazed it.

He's got the dragon skeleton battling alongside him now as well, its tail lashing out and its claws stomping the ants into goop, but he can only keep it out for a few moments at a time. He's starting to weaken, running out of energy.

An ant leaps at him over your head; you manage to hit it with your sword and knock it off its course, but it falls on you. It hisses and grabs your shoulder in its sharp mandibles as you scream and struggle desperately to get it off.

Papyrus doesn't help you. As you twist and fall to your knees, you see why. He's collapsed to the ground, ants swarming over him. They lift him and start to carry him into a cave. You scream his name in the vain hope he'll wake up and find one last burst of energy.

He doesn't wake. And you're next to be grabbed up by several ants and dragged away into the darkness, cold terror consuming you as the voice in your head laughs and laughs and laughs.

* * *

Alphys doesn't notice anything particularly out of the ordinary when the camp goes from loud with shouts and yells to empty and silent. She's lost in writing down notes for the new version of the glamour she invented years ago to help sedryn fit in with adani. She doesn't care, either, when Bracken and Undyne become silent. They were being bothersome and loud, so she's honestly rather glad they finally stopped.

When a hole in the ground opens by her, and chains shoot up to snatch her ankles, she screams and wonders why nobody comes running to save her.

* * *

The beauty of the forests is undermined by the threats of sinkholes. Asgore steps as carefully as he can as he weaves through the vine-laden trees, guided by an adani Ensign called Esther. There's barely any light spearing through the still canopy of red leaves. He remembers a time when he was covered with a different roof, a prison of stone and despair.

"Watch your step here." Esther says with professional coldness and he wonders how much of the story she knows.

Asgore has long since given up on feeling guilt for all his sins. If he allowed himself to do that, he might snap and kill himself. So he pushes away the memories of the old bitter him and he enjoys the lovely day. Until the ground crumbles beneath him and Esther, and he falls with a shout back into darkness.

* * *

The completed translation of the message blazes from the screen, burrowing into Suzy's eyes as Sans frantically tries to reach Papyrus on the com and Dexi tries to contact _anyone_ down there. Suzy stares at the translation. _Warp Away! Danger! Rogue AI Posing As Planet!_

"_shit_." Sans snaps, clenching his fists, sockets black with anger. "why the hell couldn't you translate it faster??"

"I can't work miracles without seeing them!" Dexi retorts, all orange and red. "Maybe if you found a way to open a channel to them, I could have read them!"

Suzy lashes her tail back and forth, opening her jaws, trying to think of something to say. Anything. "Papyrus is strong." She blurts. "He can get everyone out. And- and Se'Vir is down there, and Esther, and they'll help him!"

Sans collapses into Papyrus's chair. "heh, you're cute, kid. sure, he's strong. but he ain't a god."

Dexi snorts at that, her orange glow flickering like fire. Suzy's pretty sure orange is annoyance. "Wow, you actually admit that."

"what's that supposed to mean?" Sans's grin never wavers, but his sockets remain dark.

"You treat him like he's one. Like he can do no wrong."

"you're _dating_ him. i don't think you have room to judge me for loving my brother." Sans snarls.

Dexi laughs like there's some inside joke only she knows, flickering rose-pink. Suzy tenses, remembering what Dexi said to the other officers after Papyrus shoved her in blind anger and stormed off. _Someone needs to fix his issues, since he won't_. She's always been a suck-up to Papyrus, but Suzy never realized her true intentions. "You- you can't fix him." She mutters the response she _should_ have had originally, instead of laughing it off like she did.

Dexi chokes on her laugh and flashes red. "You wouldn't get it, Suzy." She says and Suzy's ears flatten at the patronizing tone.

"get what? what'm i missing?" Sans growls.

"Oh, you mind that? You miss everything, don't you?"

"Stop it!" Suzy cries, stomping her foot on the ground and then grabbing her console so she doesn't accidentally bounce away in the low-g."We have a crisis here! Dexi, you're a bitch! Sans, you're a dumbass! Now help me find a way to contact the aliens, maybe there's something they can do to help us!"

"Without-"

"Shut up!" Suzy snarls. "We'll find a way! Sans, get our drones out to search for the alien ship. Dexi, communicate with the fleet and tell them to stay away from the planet. I'll get a message ready asking for the aliens' help."

"aye, aye, acting captain." Sans salutes wryly, dim lights returning to his sockets. Suzy's muzzle heats as she realizes that's technically what she is as the current highest ranking officer on the ship besides Sans, who's never eager to take on responsibility. Dexi flickers with red anger but salutes as well.

"At ease." Suzy snaps off a return salute and then turns to her console. They've all got a lot of work to do.

* * *

Mettaton flies his runabout away from the star system, leaping into warp as soon as it's safe to do so. He doesn't need life support, so he turns it off. Alphys will never get her claws on his lovely chassis again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This marks the end of Arc One: Wormhole. Yeah, real creative name, I know. :P Please leave a comment to feed the black hole of my ego ;P


	8. Heard The Shadow Beckoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all. Sorry for being gone so long ;p I was in a psych ward. Regular updates commence now.

MK awakens to darkness. Not pitch darkness, thankfully, or he might panic, but what light there is comes from the dim stalagmites around him. He rolls onto his feet with the help of his tail and calls out into the shadows surrounding the pools of soft blue light. "C-Commander?"

"Doctor." Luon replies calmly, emerging from behind another crystalline stalagmite. MK uses his magic to break off the tip of a glowing crystal and float it in front of himself as a sort of torch.

"Yo, we're underground." MK tells him with a note of panic edging in. He doesn't want to be _there_ again.

Luon places a heavy comforting hand on his shoulder. "We'll be alright, Doctor." 

Two more voices come out of the shadows. A reddish-orange-scaled meryn and a grey-furred dagnir step into the light. MK raises his torch higher and nods to them. "Yo, looks like we're trapped down here. I'm Doctor MK, and this's my- uh, colleague Commander Luon. Anybody know what happened?"

"Khuhu," The meryn laughs grimly. "This's M'rer, I'm Kal'bun. We just woke up. Dunno how we got down here, since, er, last I knew, I was fucking them in our tent." M'rer, the dagnir, hisses in outrage and bats the chuckling Kal'bun over her head.

"Of course." Luon says, sedate as always even as MK blushes in sympathetic embarrassment. "Well, we might as well try to find a way out."

The four wander around the cavern for a while, using the light from their broken crystals as lamps. Luon is the first to hear voices echoing distantly, so he leads the group down a tunnel to the source.

MK digs his claws in the dirt when he recognizes the voice talking. "Yo, it's Asgore." He hisses, terror slamming into him so that he can hardly breathe.

Luon looks back at him. "Ah. The former sedryn king."

"There's safety in numbers." Kal'bun notes. "We should go join him."

MK shakes his head frantically, feeling the heat of fearful shame on his muzzle. "Y-yo, you all go if you want, I'll find my own way out." He'd rather die than face the old goat again.

"We won't leave you." Luon says.

"Yeah, if that bastard's the old tyrant, then pah, I say why bother with him." Kal'bun says. "Let's go a different way."

"We could steal his soul and use his magic to blast a way out." M'rer says. The absurd humor of the suggestion makes MK snort a bit.

"You guys." MK says fondly, lightness driving away his fear. "Yo, you don't even know what he's done to me."

"We don't have to." Luon says. "It's enough to know that you want to avoid him."

"Thanks, yo." MK says. "Which direction, now?"

Luon sniffs the air and starts down another tunnel. "This one."

MK feels so lucky to have such a wonderful friend supporting him. With Luon at his side, he can take on the world. The tunnel doesn't go anywhere special, just to more tunnels, but still, it's better than being forced to interact with Asgore.

The last tunnel Luon guides the group down _does_ go somewhere. It opens up into a huge, well-lit cavern with boulders floating in the air like it's zero-g. No, it _is_ zero-g. Weapons float by the edges, and other tunnels open all around them. MK chokes as he sees Asgore approaching the edge of a tunnel a mile opposite from himself.

A voice booms through the cavern. **"You are in teams already. HmHmHm, _good_. The last team standing will be freed."**

Fire lights in Asgore's paws. MK's soul drops to his feet. "Oh, fuck the stars." He whimpers. "It's kill or be killed all over again."

Luon's hand squeezes his shoulder, grounding him from the panic threatening to sweep him away. "No."

"But-"

"No." Luon repeats. "We're going to persuade everyone to join our team."

MK stares at him. "But, Luon, yo, it said only the last team-" Realization dawns. "Oh!"

"Exactly." Luon grins, his fangs bared in the ghastly pale light.

MK's hope shrivels as he doubts Asgore will agree to this plan. "Yo, it's worth a try."

* * *

Papyrus wakes with a groan. He rubs his skull, trying to see through the darkness surrounding him. Another person moans beside him. "Ryuk??" Papyrus questions the darkness.

"Y-yeah." They reply with a small whimpering intake of breath, as though injured. "G-guess the ants don't want to eat us right away, heh."

"Keep Talking." Papyrus orders and gets up on his hands and knees, feeling his way through the darkness.

"I- I bet you don't taste good." They start rambling, of course. He's irritated that they settle on that as a topic, but whatever. "Th-the ants probably took one n-nibble and were like- _hhh_\- n-nope-" They gasp as though they're weakening. "P-Papyrus- I th-think they tried to eat me-"

He finds their body, then, all slimy with blood. He feels about and they gasp again in pain as he reaches what are probably their arms. One is at an odd angle. He feels up to the joint and, yup, it's just dislocated, not broken. He slips it back into place, making them yelp. "Ow! Okay, fine, I'm not eaten, but you coulda warned me!!"

"That Would Have Made You Tense Up. It Would Have Hurt More." Papyrus retorts.

"Oh. Whatever, asshole." They grumble and get up, crawling beside him. "Where are we?"

"How Should I Know, Idiot??" Papyrus snaps, quickly becoming more irritated with them. It's easier to focus on his anger with them than it is to admit that he's scared and out of control.

"_Chillax_." They snap back. "Getting angry won't solve anything."

"Oh, And Talking _Will_."

"Ugh, you wanna know the one good thing about this??" From the edge of panic in their voice, he can tell they're on the verge of hysteria.

"What??"

"I can't see your fucking ugly-ass scowl!!" They laugh then, but it's unhinged and scared, too close to sobbing.

"For Such A Pathetic Useless Coward, You Certainly Don't Know When To _Stop_ _Pissing_ _Me_ _Off_." Papyrus growls, struggling to restrain his anger. The darkness beats at his soul, trying to drag him under waves of panic.

"Like you're any better!" They cry. And he can tell they're faring worse than he is at controlling their own panic, but he still doesn't empathize with them. "Y-you're always- _fuck_." They grab onto his hand. "I'm sorry!" They're probably only apologizing because realization has dawned on them that it's a bad idea to antagonize their only companion, but Papyrus accepts it anyway.

"You're Such An Ass." He says, letting them play with his gloved fingers to calm themself down. It helps to ground him, too. "I Can't Believe You Actually Have Friends." And maybe that's cruel of him to say, but he doesn't feel particularly charitable at the moment.

"Ha, I can't believe anybody actually likes you!" They retort, then flinch and grab onto his hand tighter as a skittering noise echoes through the small tunnel. And their words sting, yeah, but what hurts most is that Papyrus doesn't always believe anybody besides Sans actually likes him either.

"Fair Enough." He lets out a sigh. "Alright, What About A Truce?"

"What kind?" They say cautiously, not letting go of his hand.

"I keep a rein on my temper, and you obey my every order without question." He says.

"_Every_ order??" They say dubiously.

"Precisely. I won't demand anything unreasonable, but if there's another Life-Or-Death Situation, I need you to listen to me."

"Heh, deal." They shake his hand in a silly manner. "I'm not the best at those anyway."

"That's a cosmic understatement." Papyrus grumbles. Ryuk laughs sheepishly.

Papyrus starts to crawl again, Ryuk's hand in his. He wishes he'd brought something useful in his inventory, like a torch, but Sans made him clean out his emergency survival gear only a week ago and he never had time to sneak into Sans's room and get his things back. He knows Sans meant well and was just trying to get his mind back to the present instead of dwelling on the past, but it's still annoying because now he has actual need for the gear.

"At least it's not snowing." He mutters to himself with a dark chuckle, then he has an idea. "Ryuk, if we get out of this alive, I will make you a member of my crew."

"Really?" They reply hopefully. "That- that's really great of you, actually. Thanks."

"And if you happen to sneak into Sans's room and get my survival gear, I'll even make you an officer." He says, only half-joking.

"Heh, nope!" They cry, bumping into his shoulder on purpose. He bites back his instinctive growl, since they meant nothing by it.

"Why not?" He smirks, teasing them, then reaches a wall and turns to keep it at his left.

"Uh, have you _seen_ me?? Or did something hijack the old Papyrus?? Hello~?? It's me, the charming rascal, the troublemaker Ryuk?? I'm hardly officer material. Uh, besides, you were right. Me and authority don't get along well." Papyrus bumps into their shoulder this time, making them let out an adorable "_eep_!"

A light flickers in the distance as the wall curves beside Papyrus. "Look!!" Ryuk cries and stands up, pulling Papyrus to his feet. "Beat ya there!!" And they let go of his hand and run, laughing.

"HALT!!" Papyrus shouts after them.

They stop and turn, a dark shadow against the growing pale-blue light. Papyrus jogs to catch up to them. "Yeah? What's wrong? It could be our way out!"

"It's _Moving_." He says and gets between them and the light, drawing his talwar again.

"Hello?" Ryuk calls.

The dancing light gets closer and separates into several different sparkling crystals. "Who's there??" Se'Vir's voice answers.

"PAPYRUS AND RYUK." Papyrus cries back, glad to have at least one officer safe. He puts his talwar away.

"What a relief." Se'Vir clicks his beak to accentuate his point. "We were told you died."

"Whoever Said That??"

Ryuk mutters under their breath and, under the bluish cast of the light cast by the crystals that each starma holds, they look frightened. Then they blurt, "It's talking to you too??"

"What??" Papyrus demands. "What's Talking To You??"

"This voice just echoed through the cave and told us you died and we had to kill each other." Se'Vir says, approaching Papyrus with his group. Papyrus counts at least thirty people. "You know it?"

"Forget what I said." Ryuk says quickly. "Heh."

Papyrus rounds on them. "Ryuk, This Is An Order. Tell Me What It Said."

"I was joking!" They yelp as Papyrus slams a fist over their shoulder, hitting the rock wall. His knuckles sting but he ignores the pain in favor of looming over them.

"Remember Our Deal??" He snarls.

"I can't, it won't let me!" They spit back. "Go ahead, be an asshole, it won't change a damn thing since my lips are sealed!"

"WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO FUCKING INFURIATING??" He rages, then turns away from them and tries to calm down. Count to ten. There's something else going on here. "Alright, Se'Vir, What Else Did This Voice Tell You?"

"It said we're all going to die!" Ryuk spits, then grips their own throat with a wordless cry of pain. Papyrus yanks the offending hand away and holds Ryuk by their wrists.

"Forget It, Ryuk, If You Can't Speak Without Being Threatened, Then My Order Was Unreasonable." He says, redirecting his anger onto the situation instead of at them. "You Can Explain Everything When We Get Out Of Here." They nod, tears glittering in their eyes. Papyrus pats their head with his free hand and turns back to his starmas, still holding their wrists. "Se'Vir?"

"Sir, we're supposed to be in a battle royale, according to the unknown voice, but we're just looking for an exit."

"Where'd you get the light?" Ryuk asks quietly.

"The stalagmites glow, thank Rifli, so we broke pieces off to use as torches. Then we heard you two talking and came to investigate." Se'Vir says, then hands two crystals over to Papyrus.

Ryuk snatches one and stares into the glow. "I have an idea." They say and pull out a deck of cards. Papyrus lets out a laugh at the absurdity. But they're completely serious. "I can find lost things with these." They claim. "Maybe I can find the exit."

Se'Vir grumbles and clicks his beak, flicking his tail feathers. "Ryuk, you can't seriously think cards will do the trick."

"Oh, they've found my lost socks a bunch of times." Ryuk assures the uiloth. And just because Papyrus finds it amusing, he decides to play along.

"Well Then, Lead On." He places a quelling hand on Se'Vir's wing when the uiloth starts to protest. "Unless Anybody Has Any Other Options?"

Nobody else has a single idea aside from wandering around aimlessly, so a bit of magic might just be what everyone needs. Ryuk starts to lead as they shuffle their cards. Surrounded by people and light, they seem to be back in their element, relaxing and cheerfully insolent. They even tease Se'Vir until the officer's feathers poof out in annoyance.

Papyrus watches, silently breaking in the back of the group, waves of anxious anger dragging him down. What if they can't find a way out, and everyone snaps and starts killing each other?? What if he never sees Sans again?? What if Sans dies without his protection?? What if- what if he can't protect his starmas?? _Again_. He redirects the emotions into- not anger, he can't afford to be angry, not in such a delicate situation. Nothing else would work either. So he locks it all behind an impenetrable wall to be dealt with later. Finally, he's perfectly calm and cold and _controlled_.

* * *

The aliens aren't hard to find. There's several fleets of them in an orbit around the second planet from the star. They must have just revealed themselves, since Undyne never saw them on any scans. Sans transmits Suzy's roughly translated message asking for a video conference, and one ship answers by opening up a channel.

Dexi puts it up on the screens. Sans snorts and tries not to laugh at the aliens. It's not hard to stifle, since he's still worried sick about Papyrus, but a little humor goes a long way in relieving his stress. "i'm surprised they didn't tell us to _leaf_ them alone." He mutters to Suzy, who disguises her laugh as a violent coughing fit into her arm.

Dexi doesn't hear, but she wouldn't be amused anyway. Sans has decided he doesn't like her. She's useful and a good officer, but she ain't worthy of his bro.

The goopy-tree-like aliens waddle about in their bridge and Dexi does her thing, talking back and forth with them. "They're called the Vaux. They consider themselves galactic police." She reports to Suzy. "They've been looking for a way to destroy the false planet Skoria for a while now."

"alright, any info on what skoria is?"

"It's an AI built as- basically, an amusement park with interlocking sections that could be moved around like puzzle pieces." Dexi says drily. "But the creator messed up the code after he was fired, and it turned into a death trap."

"Can they help us get everyone out?" Suzy asks, tail lashing.

"Yes." Dexi says. Suzy whoops and fist-bumps Sans. "But, they need a DNA lock. Everyone should have files in sickbay, though, so that shouldn't be a problem."

Sans goes cold all at once. _Fuck. _Paps always refused to go to sickbay, even for his physical. "uh, there's another way, right?" He asks.

"No." She says, purple with confusion. "Why?"

"my bro ain't in the system." He says. "we gotta find another way to do this."

"This is our only hope for most of our starmas!" Dexi cries as she flashes red with anger.

"i ain't saying to forget it, i'm saying we need more options along with it." Sans growls.

"I agree!" Suzy says. "None of Frisk's captives and not all Alliance starmas are in the systems of any ships either since many were just recently transferred."

Dexi looks like she wants to argue, but she turns away and talks to the Vaux again instead. Sans nods gratefully to Suzy. "thanks."

"Sure thing, I don't want to abandon anyone either." She says as though Sans had more people in mind than just his brother- oh _shit_, Fuzzball and the stowaway kid are down there, too.

Then she taps her muzzle thoughtfully. "What about our runabouts?" She asks. "They're still down there."

"how's that supposed to help?"

"If we can remotely pilot them, we can get them to the prisoners' locations, and then disrupt the AI with a mag-pulse!" Suzy claps her paws together, nearly flying off in the low-g.

"i hope yer plan works, kiddo." Sans says.

A starma stumbles into the bridge. "S-sir!" He cries.

"Yes?" Suzy replies. "What's wrong?"

"The prisoners have escaped!"

* * *

The chains around Undyne's ankles and wrists must be unbreakable, as Undyne's used every last drop of her power to shatter them in vain. Alphys whimpers, dangling a few feet lower. Undyne curses and struggles again, despite the exhaustion in her soul. She can't access her magic, as something has been cutting it off. The chains, probably.

The scattered crystal stalagmites under her cast dim halos of pale-blue light. Bracken mutters incomprehensible words as he's hanging from the ceiling beside Undyne. There's other starmas chained to the dirt ceiling as well. Ants skitter about below the prisoners. But not any normal cute burnable ants, no, these ants are huge, nearly as big as Undyne herself.

"Hey, Alphys!" Undyne hisses. "Alphys!" The ants chitter up at her, so she snarls back, "Oh, you're all going to be SO _DEAD_!! As soon as I can get these fucking chains off!"

Alphys cries, "Undyne!"

"It's okay, babe, I'll get us outta this!!" Undyne says and struggles against the chains one last time. They refuse to break.

Bracken's muttering becomes a laugh. "Hahaha, this is great!" Vines burst from the dirt ceiling, rending his chains. "I get to smash NPCs without blame!!" He roars and the wimp-ass adani morphs into a viney flowery boss, who falls to the floor and lands kneeling as the ground craters beneath him.

Undyne gapes at him. "How the fuck??"

Bracken grins and gestures flippantly. Vines wind around Undyne's chains and crush them. Undyne flips through the air, forming several spears which all rip through the enemy ants before she lands on her feet, cracking the ground beneath herself into an even larger crater. "Fuhuhu!!" She cackles and rips an ant wide open with her bare hands, its green guts spilling over her. "Bracken, get everyone down here!"

"Yeah, yeah, fuck you." Bracken blows a raspberry, but sets the other prisoners free. Undyne catches Alphys, letting the others all hit the ground around her.

"Th-that was so- so epic!!" Alphys gushes.

Undyne cackles gleefully. "You bet your goddamned ass it was!!"

"N-not you, Br-_Bracken_." Alphys corrects, and Undyne deflates, biting her lip in rage.

"How the FUCK is that _BRATASS_ more epic than ME??" She cries, unable to contain her irritation.

Alphys looks suitably guilty. "Heh, n-_nobody_ is more epic th-than you, honey."

"That's _RIGHT_!!" Undyne yells and drives a spear home into an ant as it tries to leap at her.

The battle doesn't last long. The ants eventually stop attacking and warily circle around the group of around fifty _former_ prisoners. "How are- are we s-supposed to g-get back?" Alphys stammers. Clever Al, always being so smart and logical.

Undyne smooches her. Deeply. Alphys moans, her hands finding Undyne's breasts and squeezing as Undyne's own hands find Al's ass. "Mmh, I love you so much, babe." Undyne growls into the kiss.

"D-ditto, honey." 

Bracken shouts in disgust, disrupting the moment, "Can't you two idiots do that when we're back with the fleet??"

"Fuck you!!" Undyne flips him off.

Alphys grabs her hand and sucks on her finger. "No, fuck _me_." Ugh, why does she have to be so freaking _desirable_??

"You're so hot, babe." Undyne purrs.

A voice reverberates through the cavern, driving the ants away. **"If you're all quite done with your mating rituals, there is a death game to be had. Last one alive will be set free."** The voice, metallic as it is, gives off a sadistically amused vibe.

Undyne cackles darkly as she stands up. "Fuhuhu, guess this bastard never heard, huh!! We're fucking _married_, so we legally count as one person!!"

Bracken has already leapt for her, a wild laugh in his sharp hickory teeth, while the other prisoners scatter in fear. Undyne bares her teeth. She knows which one of them will be returning to the starships.

* * *

The cards seem to be working. You can feel the familiar pull guiding you. Bouncing on your toes, you grin because you're finally being useful. And hey, if they can work for this, they'll definitely work for matchmaking too. *_Except there won't be anybody to make matches with, hmhmhm, poor little dragon._* The voice hisses in your mind. You glance back at Papyrus. He seems calm, weirdly enough. You expected more- you're not sure, but you didn't expect him to be this relaxed.

You recognize the blankness in his eyes, then. He's not relaxed. He's panicking. *_Just watch, he'll explode and take it out on you. You deserve better._* The voice nearly blends in with your own thoughts, stirring bitterness in your soul that you quickly try to push down. And maybe you should try to defuse him before he snaps, so you start to hang back.

*_Do you know who I am_?* The voice stops you forcefully, injecting you with fear so that you quicken your steps. *_I am existence itself for the pitiful lifeforms on this planet- I am this planet. You live or die by my commands. I could kill you instantaneously._* Terror chokes in your chest, a vise pressing down around your mind as you try to focus on the cards you're shuffling.

But why hasn't this planet actually killed anyone yet, then? It's not adding up. _*I could if I wanted to!* _It rages, winding tighter around you with overstimulating webs of data until your soul stutters, then it calms down again and blocks off the pain once more. You blink and pick up your cards from the ground, having dropped them.

Before anybody can ask what's wrong, you drop back to Papyrus and grab his hand. "We need a breather." You say, plopping down onto the ground and dragging Papyrus with you. He clatters against the wall and his skull droops. He can't speak, you're sure. "Come on, asshole, we'll all be fine." You lie in a chipper voice. "Anybody up for a game?"

Almost everyone is eager to have a distraction, so games of poker are played with six people at a time. Not strip, unfortunately, Se'Vir overrules the majority and vetoes that. You're the dealer, of course. You absently rub circles into the black leather of Papyrus's gloved hand. He comes back gradually. "What Are You All Doing??" He demands after at least five games have been played.

"Playing poker." You say, baring your teeth and pretending they're sharp fangs. He scowls tiredly at you. "One more game between the winners, then we can go, okay?"

"Fine." He replies and leans back against the wall. He's asleep a few minutes later, and you only know that because his skull has fallen onto your shoulder. It's actually really cute, and you wish you could take a picture just to tease him about it.

"Three more games." You hiss to the others, who giggle quietly.

"I Said One More." Papyrus grumbles sleepily. But it ends up being eight more games before he wakes up.

"Hey, we compromised." You tell him as he huffily stands up and brushes the dirt off his uniform. "I wanted three more, you wanted one more, so we put them all in a room together and boom, little number babies."

"Are You Going To Be A Smartass, Or Are You Going To Lead Us Out Of Here??"

"I can do both at the same time, don't underestimate my multitasking abilities, asshole." He hasn't let go of your hand yet.

*_You fool._* The voice laughs in your mind. *_Wouldn't it have been a mercy to let me kill them? But no, you had to give them false hope. HmHmHm, there is no escape from Skoria. I could make you go around in circles on and on and you would never even notice, you foolish little dragon._*

The constant underlying despair peeks through your facade of cheer. "I have to find a way out." You mutter to yourself. You can't die. You're not allowed. "I have to get out of here."

_You? Or everyone?_ And you're honestly not sure this time if that thought was from yourself or the weird creepy planet voice that calls itself Skoria. Does it even matter which one you mean anyway??

_*We're alike, you and I, so I'll give you a chance at life._* Skoria purrs. *_With a few conditions. Quid pro quo._* You're not quite desperate enough to listen to it, though, as Papyrus's hand in yours grounds you. *_HmHmHm. Any time you want a way out, just ask._*

Hopeless fear blooms like smothering vines in your soul as the exit continues to elude your reach even after hours of searching. There's no way out. And the deal dangles in your mind, tempting you. _We're alike, you and I._ Both created for a purpose. Both following the engraved rules. Both unable to change. You're a coward, looking out for your own skin. That's what mom made you. That's all you ever can be. Skoria's offer pulls at you. Your hand slips away from Papyrus's and with his grounding touch goes all your resistance.

Skoria's terms are painfully easy to follow. All you have to do is switch targets and let the cards pull at you. You don't even have to think about it. If you thought too hard, you'd be overwhelmed by guilt for what you're doing. But you have no choice, in the end. Everyone was going to die anyway. You're just saving the one life you can. _Yours_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryuk, noooooo!!


	9. Your Fears Seemed To Keep You Blinded

Luon's muzzle opens, inhaling the scents from his star-mates around the arena and reading the electrical and magical signatures of hearts and souls. The place is completely devoid of life other than the prisoners. "M'rer, distract Asgore." He orders. Asgore has already started attacking someone far off, the blasts of magic blooming like flowers in Luon's senses.

MK moves, a brilliant blob of orange and yellow, like a sunset, blossoming from grey and green, which Luon knows is the Medical officer uniform. "Yo, Commander?"

"Yes, Doctor?" Luon replies.

"What's your magic? Can it help?"

Luon feels his muzzle and brow wrinkle. He smoothes his face and tilts his head to one side. "My magic deals with altering the perception of reality. It's not particularly useful in action."

"Illusions are useful, yo!"

"It's _not_ illusions, not exactly." Luon replies. "Amlygs grow up knowing how to lie in such a way that reality itself believes the lie. Some use the ability to make themselves powerful. Others use it to help people. But there's a limit to how much you can make reality accept. We call that the implosion border. As soon as you hit it, reality starts to question _whether_ _you exist_."

"That's awesome, yo!" MK cries. Luon's muzzle burns. He meant to scare MK, not be the object of admiration.

"Indeed, Doctor. You understand why I'd rather use my abilities if the glamour needs magic, then."

"Yo, definitely. Any ideas how to get everyone onto our team without using epic reality-altering powers, then?" MK asks.

"I may have one or two." Luon replies. The grey blob of M'rer leads the white and gold blob of Asgore away from the brown and purple blob of Esther, whose arm has been burned badly, the heat of pain coming off of her like a wave. Anger stirs in Luon's ribs. "Perhaps taking his soul isn't such a bad idea after all." He hisses.

"Yo, I wouldn't complain about anyone dusting him." MK says.

Luon, MK, and Kal'bun separate to find others to join their team and help take down Asgore. Luon stays near the wall and hunts down small groups from their scents.

He's managed to find a couple groups of starmas and a few officers when a light appears in his chest, pulling at him and ripping him painlessly apart bit by bit. It's a weird feeling. Everything becomes light, and then he's in a foreign ship with weird aliens and nearly overpowering scents. "Doctor," He cries, worried that MK is still down on the planet.

"Y-yo, what happened?? Where are we??" Sunshine appears behind one of the huge metallic-scented blobs. Luon sighs, relieved.

Suzy's voice comes through a transceiver. "Hey, guys, you've just been teleported! There's runabouts coming to get you, so have the Vaux show you to their hangar and you'll be back in the _Gil-Mista_ fleet in no time!"

* * *

Toriel steps out of the runabout into the eerily lifeless camp. Her naughty child follows her after powering the craft off. "My child, where has everyone gone??" Toriel demands.

"How the hell should I know??" Chara retorts.

Toriel tuts. Her child has been allowed to be troublesome for far too long. "Well, I suppose here is as good a place as any to take you over my knee."

Chara glares sullenly and backs away. "No, mom." A tarantula crawls up to them and taps at their foot with a clawed leg. "Ohh, hee hee, Xinyi, what are you doing down here??" They pick up the tarantula gently and it crawls up their arm, settling onto their head. Toriel shivers. Chara always hated spiders. Why-

Chara smiles, a smugly vicious look. "I'm not Chara, mom. Frisk. I'm _Frisk_. I like spiders and I hate chocolate and I have golden eyes, not red, and you _locked_ me in your _basement_ for _ten years_."

The trembling in Toriel's limbs is drowned out by the roaring in her ears. Her child grins, their golden eyes crinkling. Gold. Not red. _Gold_-

"My child," She says cheerfully. "Put that disgusting creature down, you hate spiders."

"Ugh, you just forgot again, didn't you." Chara groans and stomps away with the tarantula still on their head.

Toriel follows close behind, trying to remember what they said she forgot. It's such a beautiful planet. "Where are we, my child?? Have you taken us for a picnic?" Chara doesn't look back or respond. What a troublesome child.

Fire forms in her fists. If Chara won't listen, she'll have to make them listen. She'll blast that disgusting spider pet. She has to save her child from its devious mind-control.

But just as she lets the fireball loose, Chara falls with a yelp and disappears. Toriel runs up to see where they've gone, and then the ground swallows her as well. Her head hits the hard ground and she knows nothing more for a time.

Toriel awakens to nauseous pain wracking her body. "_Aghh_." She groans into the black fog surrounding her. "M-my child-"

"Fuck off." Chara snaps a few feet away, sounding like they're in tears. Funny, hee hee, Chara never cries.

Toriel lights a flame over her paw and frowns at the tear tracks on Chara's cheeks. The tarantula curls and twitches in their hands as they sob over it. Oh, good, it's dying. A blast of fire puts it out of its misery and turns it to ashes.

"Mom!!" Chara shrieks, anger blazing in their eyes. "You killed him!!"

"My child, it was for your own good." Toriel retorts.

"_Fuck you_!" Chara spits and storms away into the darkness, still cradling the ashes of their pet. "You say that about everything!!" Lost for words, Toriel follows them as they stomp about in a huge circle.

"NGAAAHHH!!" A battlecry echoes through the cavern.

Chara breaks into a run for the direction of it. "Undyne!!"

Toriel growls and stomps after them. She casts a fire blast to one side in anger, but the light reveals a horde of giant pale ant-like creatures. "Chara!!" She screams after her child, but Chara has disappeared.

"Fuhuhu, what's the ex-queen doing out here??" Undyne's voice echoes.

"Golly, what am I, my mom's keeper??" The irritating fellow, Bracken, replies. "Where is everyone, anyway??"

Pale-blue lights appear, bobbing through the darkness. Toriel approaches them cautiously, her magic thrumming in her paws. Undyne waves to her with a glowing crystal. Behind the warrior, the despicable royal scientist cowers. "Hey!! Frisk's over here, too!!" Undyne calls.

"What is this place??" Toriel demands, then ignores Alphys when she tries to answer. "Where's Chara??"

"F-Frisk, actually." Alphys mutters.

Toriel glares at her. "Watch your tongue or I'll burn it out." She snarls.

"Woah, hey, I'll be the one slicing and dicing you if you threaten my wife." Undyne says, calling a spear to her hand.

"She will, too." Bracken says with a rueful tone. Toriel stares at him in confusion, as he's in a different form now, that of a viney sedryn instead of an adani like he had been.

"Yeah, fuhu, don't push my buttons like this guy!! Damn fucker put a tarantula in my love's tent!!" Undyne grabs Bracken in a headlock and noogies him with an elbow as he yelps and tries to escape in vain.

"It's your fault!!" Chara steps out of the shadows to punch Bracken's side. "Because you stole him, mom killed Xinyi!!"

"Ow!" He cries. "Frisk, I'm sorry, it was just too great a prank to miss!!"

"That so??" Undyne growls.

"Uh- gee, actually, it was all Ryuk's fault!!" Bracken deflects the blame. Somehow, it feels like something her absent son would do.

"Who's that??" Undyne retorts. "I know you, Bracken. You're a dastardly villain wrapped in a cutesy act."

"Golly, Undyne, how'd you guess that??" Bracken grins. Undyne laughs and lets him go.

"But you know what?? You fight good. Not like Frisky-pants here."

Toriel feels lost and left out, forgotten, as the four banter like she isn't even here. Alphys keeps glancing at her, but she doesn't _want_ that despicable creature's attention, much less pity.

"Chara!!" She finally has had enough, shouting and blasting fire at the ceiling, where thousands of white chitinous eyes reflect the light. She screams. "Enemies!! Beware, fall back!!"

"Calm down, mom!" Chara cries, grabbing Toriel's arm. "They're _weak_, totally harmless."

"Yeah, mostly, anyways. Still not sure how we got chained up." Undyne grumbles. "Anyway, how'd you two get down here?"

Chara tells her of their escape. Undyne laughs and slaps them on the back. "Fuhuhu, let's find a way outta here!! Toriel, take point! Al, babe, you stay in the center with Frisk. Bracken, you an' I'll take rear guard!"

Toriel hackles at being given orders, but then she shrieks in horror as Chara yanks Bracken to themself and _kisses_ him full on the lips. "My child, remove your lips from that scoundrel!!" Bracken wraps his arms around Chara and oh_ stars_ is that his_ tongue_??

Toriel yanks her child away by their wrist and drags them with her as she lights the way with her fire. Alphys-- the disgusting ex-royal scientist-- remains silent. It's just as well she does, after all, since Toriel might snap and torch her to dust if she says anything.

* * *

Alphys mutters to herself as she trudges behind Toriel and Frisk. Undyne and Bracken follow her, bantering. The ants of unusual size haven't tried to attack yet, but they're skittering all around, giving a wide berth to the small group. "What would Mew Mew do." She wonders under her breath. Mew Mew, from her all-time favorite anime, would probably kiss an ant to control it but, unfortunately, Alphys's kiss wouldn't have quite the same effect.

However, it's the meta-narrative behind Mew Mew's actions that matter. Mew Mew couldn't succeed without friends to guide her. Toriel definitely doesn't count as a friend, but Frisk used to. Alphys glances back to Undyne, who grins at her. If Undyne finds out Alphys is afraid, she'd- heh, she'd probably dunk Alphys into a trashcan and yell at her.

Alphys glances at Bracken, then drops her eyes quickly as he's already glaring at her. She could lie and say he doesn't scare her, but ever since he told her his story, she can't help but be afraid he'll tell Asgore or Toriel. She's afraid of their hatred, yet she hates herself. Alphys sees her own pathetic weakness and her sadism and all her sins, and she _hates_ herself for them, but she can't become better, because trying to become better would mean there's something inside her that's worth striving for. And she can't see that. So she stays how she is, a pathetic hypocritical fool. She's given up on death, too. Death would be too good for her.

"Will you cease with that incessant muttering??" Toriel cries, the fire in her paws flaring with her anger.

"S-s-sorry!" Alphys stammers, cowering.

"Leave her alone, mom." Frisk says.

"I'm not happy with you, my child, so keep your mouth shut before I decide to-"

"To what, whip me till I bleed?? _Again_??" Frisk retorts, laughing. "You have no power over me, mom."

"Chara-" Toriel snaps.

Frisk shoves her away and roars, "SHUT THE FUCK UP, TORIEL, _I'M NOT CHARA_!!"

Alphys winces and backs away. The walls behind her rumble and crash with a roar. Undyne and Bracken shriek, and Alphys whips around only to see pitch blackness. "Undyne!" She calls, fear pounding in her soul. But she's used to fear. She lives with it every waking moment. Behind her, Toriel and Frisk have fallen silent. She calls for her wife again. No answer.

Toriel comes up to her and the light reveals a pile of rocks has slid down, cutting through the group. "_Pah_. Look what you've done." The old goat sniffs. "You caused an avalanche."

"Hardly." Alphys corrects. "It's j-just a rockslide."

"Did I ask your opinion, welp??" Toriel sneers and Alphys cowers.

"N-no? Undyne was over there, c-can you help d-dig it up?"

Toriel shrugs. She just _shrugs_ when Undyne could be dead! "I don't see why I should. Undyne can fend for herself well enough. And my child requires a firm paw."

Hatred stirs in Alphys's soul. That, too, is familiar. She hates nearly everyone except for Undyne, and maybe Ryuk, but she loves Undyne and just doesn't know Ryuk well enough yet to have reason to hate them. "Y-you're abusive." She mutters. "I w-will _never_ tr-treat my child like that." She's a hypocrite, she knows, since she's treated her son Mettaton worse than that, but the unborn child in Undyne's soul will be a different matter altogether.

Frisk's eyes widen as she claps her hands over her mouth. Toriel's visage darkens as she looms over Alphys. "I have granted you far too much leeway." The ex-queen growls. "It's time you paid for your sins."

"Dodge!!" Frisk cries.

Alphys stares into Toriel's burning eyes and refuses. "K-kill me, then." She says. "B-but let me t-talk to- to Frisk one last time."

Toriel considers it, then agrees with a nod. "Do not attempt to flee." 

"I- I won't." Alphys says, familiar terror pumping through her limbs, familiar hatred blazing in her chest, familiar suicidal longing lapping at her mind. She waddles to Frisk and hands her a tablet, hiding it from Toriel's sight. "G-give this to L-Luon." She mutters.

"What's in it?" Frisk asks, petting Alphys's head.

"You don't n-need to know. If he- if he can figure out the c-code, he d-deserves t-to have it." Alphys sighs. "T-tell Undyne I l-love her."

Frisk giggles with an edge of hysteria. "No. I won't."

"St-stay b-back. _Run_." Alphys hisses in a whisper. "It- it's going to be okay." She tries to smile. "Th-this is what I deserve, after all."

Frisk giggles. "Hee hee, you don't have to _die_, though."

"You can hardly stop me, my child." Toriel growls. "And after I am done with her, be prepared for a punishment of your own."

"Run, Frisk." Alphys hisses. Frisk grabs Alphys into her arms, holding on tight. Tears well in Alphys's eyes as she bitterly realizes Frisk has always believed there was good in her. She smiles a watery smile and lifts Frisk's chin with a claw so Frisk stares into her eyes. "_Omoidashite boku no koto wo_," Alphys sings softly a line from Frisk's favorite anime's opening. "_Azayaka na mama._" Frisk laughs a quiet laugh, and doesn't let go. _Please remember me, as vivid as I was._ "G-go. Get away from her. I'll- I'll try to weaken her, so if you have to take her soul- y-you can do it."

Toriel shouts at the two, "Be quick, I will not give you any more time!"

"It's me she wants." Alphys kisses her cheek and shoves her away. "G-go."

Frisk salutes her with Mew Mew's signature pose. Alphys chuckles darkly and turns to Toriel, reaching for her magic as she steps forward to her doom. Undyne is gone, probably dead. Alphys has nothing left to live for.

She's familiar with fear. She's familiar with hate. She's familiar with suicidal longings. But the new feeling that comes up to gather her in its embrace is none of these. It's steel. And it's strength.

Fire explodes against her chest and knocks her back. She struggles back onto her feet, her soul's HP ticking down. Frisk is gone. "Heh." She laughs. "Heh hah hah, aren't we a m-messy f-family."

"You're no family of mine!" Toriel snarls and draws out a flamberge, an inferno blazing from the wavy blade.

"Th-that's where you're wrong." Alphys grins, finding strength in the facade. "Fr-Frisk made all of us her family. And you abused that. Y-you let her down. You hurt her. I _hate_ you." Lightning arcs from her claws to blast Toriel.

The fiery sword arcs down with Toriel's enraged roar. Alphys faces it, baring her chest to it, and it's driven home through her soul, the blaze eating her alive. "Love you, Undyne." She murmurs, just before everything goes black. She can see her glassy white soul. She can see the streaks of green bleeding from it. _Kindness- how ironic-_ And then it shatters.

* * *

Ryuk stops pretending to act cheerful. It's almost as though a switch has flipped and they can't even fake a laugh, much less look anyone in the eyes. Papyrus watches, suspicious, but they could just be tired and letting the stress get to them. There is the worrisome matter of the voice in their head that won't let them talk about itself, though.

He grabs their hand again and they flinch. "Do You Need Another Break?" 

"No!" They say quickly, sounding frightened for some reason. "No, we keep moving, we're- we're almost there."

"And Where Is That?" He asks, but he's interrupted by a blaze of light as he follows them around a curve in the tunnel.

The others run forward with cheers and hollers of delight. Ryuk hangs back. Papyrus at first thinks they're just tired, but then he sees the weight of guilt and fear dragging them down. "Well, I Suppose An Apology Is In Order." He mutters, testing them. "I Had Doubts, But You Did Good."

They wince as they try to meet his gaze with a weak smile. "Y-yeah," They say with an attempt at sounding airily flippant. "I'll beat ya there." They're just tired, Papyrus decides. Just exhausted. He must be misreading them.

"When we get back to the _Liltha_, you can rest." He says.

They open their mouth with a small noise of distress, but then seem to choke on their words. Their fists clench. "Yeah. Rest. That'll be nice." They say dully.

Papyrus squeezes their hand tighter when they try to slip away. The light grows brighter. He looks back and notices the tunnel collapsing behind himself to block the exit. Something's gone very wrong. And before he can stop the ones who'd run ahead, they're already in the light.

Ryuk struggles to make Papyrus let go of their hand, but he refuses and continues to drag them onward, dread and fury pounding in his ribs. He dearly hopes they didn't do what he suspects they did.

Then he's in the light, squinting to adjust, and Ryuk yelps, pleading with him to let go as his grip tightens mercilessly. "Ryuk," He says with deadly calm before roaring at them, "_WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE??_"

They whimper, cowering, but he shoves them to the ground to deal with them afterwards. He leaps down into the brightly lit cavern filled with huge soldier ants and draws his talwar. His starmas grab up the physical attacks that he throws to them to defend themselves with. The ants close in. He's exhausted. But he fights. Se'Vir takes a team and moves around the edges of the cavern, searching for a way out.

When the ants finally pause their onslaught, warily circling, Papyrus checks on his people. Nobody has died yet. But quite a few are injured. Ryuk hides in what's left of the tunnel while everybody ignores them except to shoot occasional glares. If Papyrus weren't so tired, he'd be more pissed off, but as it is, he needs a break from all this bullshit.

Lights appear in five people's chests, who shriek as they dissipate into thin air. Then five more are chosen by the lights. Papyrus staggers back, falling to his knees, his talwar clattering to the ground. He's so tired. The ants are closing in again, emboldened by the dropping numbers. And now all his starmas are being disintegrated by an unknown force.

It keeps going until only he and Ryuk are left. He pins them with a glare as they stand up, guilty horror in their eyes. "I didn't know that would happen." They mutter as they approach him.

"What Did You Know??" He demands. They pick up his talwar cautiously. He sighs and leans back against a boulder. "Go Ahead. I Suppose You Might As Well." He expects them to cut off his head, but they turn their back to him.

The ants leap for Papyrus. Ryuk lets out a cry as they slice through one. For being pathetically useless at using a sword earlier, they're not doing too shabbily now, although they have terrible form and they won't last long. "Forget It." He says. "We're Both Going To Die- Or Maybe Just Me, Maybe That's Why You Betrayed Us. I Didn't Know You Hated Us That Much. Hating Me, I Understand." He rambles, hoping his words hurt them. From their wailing sobs as they slash haphazardly through the oncoming attackers, he guesses it does hurt. Good.

"But I Thought You Liked Everyone Else. You Certainly Acted Like You Did." He takes a shuddering breath, struggling to not burst into tears himself. "I Guess You Lied About Not Hating Me."

"No!" Ryuk protests with a broken cry.

"Then Why-" He growls.

"Because I'm not allowed to die!!"

He blinks at their back as they cut an ant's head off. They're not going to last much longer. "That's Bullshit." He snarls finally.

Ryuk drops to their knees. "N-no." They sob. "Stop, please, Skoria, stop it!"

The ants stop attacking. Papyrus can't move as cold metal embraces his wrists and ankles.** "Now I have, hmm, three toys."** The voice echoes through the cavern. **"A hero girl, a soldier boy, and a traitorous wretch!"**

Ryuk collapses, shaking with sobs. "I'm sorry." They weep. "I just wanted to get out."

**"You were so close to the exit, too. It was so much fun to watch you trick the old fools. Too bad they escaped me."** Skoria snarls gleefully. **"But I still have _you_."**

Papyrus struggles against the chains. Ryuk looks up, hope in their eyes. "Th-they didn't disintegrate?" They ask, nearly pleading.

**"No, I can't dis- HmHmHm, no, of course I killed them."**

"Bastard!!" Ryuk cries. They're chained too, Papyrus notices.

"Ryuk." He snarls.

They flinch and look at him obediently, unable to bear meeting his glare for more than a moment. "Y-yes?"

"Help Me Destroy Skoria And I Will Let You Live." He promises.

**"Help him and I'll kill you, HmHmHm."** Skoria chuckles delightedly.

Ryuk stammers wordlessly before collapsing in a dead faint. Papyrus feels himself slipping away from consciousness as well and growls, "Oh, Come On." The last thing he hears is Skoria's laugh echoing through the cavern before everything goes dark and he knows no more.


	10. An Unforgiveable Tragedy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry.

The tablet fits neatly beside the dagger in Frisk's inventory. Toriel will kill Alphys, and Frisk will be a heroine and save Toriel from this place, and then Toriel will see that Frisk was the bestest all along. She tries to drown out the quiet voice deep down whispering that Alphys was the only one who ever accepted Frisk despite all her sins. Hee hee, what sins?? Frisk is blameless. The quiet voice barks a short bitter laugh at that. _Hardly_, Chara replies.

Frisk stomps her feet angrily. Chara is such a bitch. Frisk has no clue why mom wants _them_ instead of _her_. It's not fair. Chara is _dead_! Tears rise in Frisk's eyes. It's not _fair_.

_I know,_ Chara soothes. _I hate being in your body, too._

**"Will you stop throwing a tantrum and just let me catch you, already??"** A voice reverberates about the tunnel. And with that, chains shoot up from the ground and snap around Frisk's ankles and wrists. She screams as they drag her away into the rock floor, but the sudden darkness makes her faint.

When she wakes up, she's in a glass cylinder. Outside, a weird tall creature paces about on multiple limbs. It reminds Frisk of something called a mantis shrimp, which she saw in a funny video once. "HmHmHm," It chuckles. "Most Informative."

"Who are you??" Frisk demands.

"I?" The shrimp does a dramatic double-take. "I am Skoria. Ruler of this planet. Ruler of the pathetic mindless ants that obey my every whim." It laughs again.

"Let me go! I have to defeat you!!" Frisk cries, slamming her fist gently on the glass. It stings her fingers with a light jolt of electricity.

"Nuh-uh." Skoria laughs. "You're just a pathetic, weak human."

"Ugh." Frisk groans. "Not this again. I'm the hero, dummie, so let me out so I can kick your butt and make friends!!" She's used to this. She knows what to do. She's done it a million times.

"Make friends??" Skoria cries, flickering between different forms all the sudden. "How odd. HmHmHm, you can't make friends with something that doesn't have a soul. _But_\- I do so _dearly_ want a soul, Frisk."

"You do?" Frisk says warily. "You can't have mine."

"And I won't take it. But I get so lonely here, trapped, with no companionship for mental stimulation." The shrimp bemoans.

_Fuck that_, Chara spits, not trusting Skoria. Frisk, however, understands the loneliness and pain. "What if I could get you a soul?" She offers. She might be able to get Toriel's. Or maybe Asgore's. Or perhaps an amalgamation of human soul shards, that worked for Bracken nee Flowey.

"Really? HmHmHm, how fascinating!" Skoria cries in delight. "You would do that for me?"

"I'll be your friend, too, if you let me out." Frisk wheedles. The cuter she is, the less likely Skoria is to hurt her.

Skoria muses over this. "Oh, what's the harm. I can always capture you again." It says finally, and the glass walls dissipate.

Frisk steps out cautiously, then sits down as Chara screams at her to run. "What would you like to talk about, friend?" She offers.

Skoria laughs and claps its many limbs together. "HmHm!! Actually~ I'm not so sure why I should trust you!! After all." It morphs into Toriel--Toriel with a red slash across her chest--and Frisk chokes on air. "You _murdered_ your own friends. You killed them time and time again!! HmHmHm, it's so lovely!! So perfect!!"

"M-mom!" Frisk cries, stricken.

Toriel laughs with a paw to her muzzle. "Hee Hee, yes, Frisk?"

"Mom, you know I only did it for love, right??" Frisk pleads, lost in the purple bricked tunnels of the Ruins.

Toriel shatters into dust and in her place stands Skoria again. "She's dead, actually." Skoria says dismissively. "Alphys killed her."

"No!!" Frisk shouts, rising to her feet. "Mom is too strong, Alphys doesn't stand a chance!!"

Skoria morphs again. "This is _fun_. I wonder what I can do with my other prisoners~"

"Who are you?" Frisk stares in confusion at the form it's chosen. Chara recognizes it but refuses to tell her.

The shifting sparkling mass of light replies, "Don't you know me? Oh, oops, got you confused with my other prisoner, the traitor. Maybe ask them about me, hm? About _what their mom has done_."

"Hee hee, okay!" Frisk claps her hands. Skoria morphs back to a mantis shrimp and pats Frisk's head with several hand-claws.

"You're so precious. I want to keep you. I think I will, for however long you survive. Hm, maybe I can kill some of my servants for water."

"Aren't you going to let me get you a soul??" Frisk cries.

Skoria laughs. "That's sweet, but no, I think I'd rather take the traitor's."

"Who's the traitor?" Frisk asks. "Where's your other prisoners?"

"HmHm, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let you see them. There's nothing you can do, after all." Skoria leads Frisk through the walls of machinery. "I took you all to my core." It explains. "Where I can take a proper form."

Then, entering a remote room, Skoria claps and lights blast on, shining into two glass cylinders. Papyrus is chained up, hanging from an X-shaped bar with his limbs splayed. A human paces in the other cylinder-- their chains allowing them more freedom of movement. They're muttering to themself, but they blanch, petrified as Skoria crawls up and taps on the glass.

"Hello, my little traitor." Skoria purrs. "This is my core. You were looking for it, yes? You want to destroy me? HmHmHm, good luck with that."

Papyrus growls, making the traitor flinch. Frisk hops up to the wall and knocks on it, ignoring Papyrus's glare. "Who'd you betray??" She asks, curiosity overwhelming her. "Did you hurt my friend Skoria??"

They collapse to the ground with clanks of metal from the chains and hide their face. Papyrus snarls, "Well?? Answer Her."

"No." They mumble.

"This Idiot Led Me And My Group Into A Goddamned Death Trap!!" Papyrus rages, but he's quieter than normal, probably because he's trapped in an uncomfortable position. The traitor sobs into their hands.

"HmHm, then you won't be opposed to me taking their soul?" Skoria hums. Frisk claps her hands gleefully, it's working out perfectly!

The traitor chokes and scrambles to the back of their cell, obviously terrified. "Please-" They weep. They wouldn't last an hour Underground.

"Hm, I suppose you'd rather I take Frisk's soul instead. But I like Frisk, whereas you are not as amusing as you once were."

"I- I can be more amusing, if- if you want." The traitor says, hiccuping from their tears.

"How so?" Skoria asks, intrigued. Frisk doesn't like this. She doesn't like the traitor for trying to make her soul be taken instead of theirs.

"There's four of us." The traitor says as Skoria hangs on their every word. "I have a game for exactly four people. It's called Dagnir Strip Poker."

"And?" Skoria purrs.

"Two teams." The traitor gulps, visibly swallowing down their fear. "You and me on one, Papyrus and Frisk on the other. The winning team gets to decide what to do with the losers."

Frisk slams her fist against the glass angrily. "No way!!" She cries. "You bastard!!"

The traitor bares their teeth, the tears on their cheeks evaporating. "I can teach you the rules if you'd like. But, uh, you might want to let the asshole down."

Skoria hums, and to Frisk's horror, she realizes it's considering the proposition. "HmHmHm, very well." It says.

Frisk looks to Papyrus for support, but he just seems resigned. "Hey, you can't do this!!" She cries. "Papyrus-"

"Don't You Fucking Dare Talk To Me." He snarls. "I'll Take The Deal. And I'll Fucking Whip Your Ass At This Game, Ryuk, So Don't Think For One Measly Second You Can Escape The Dire Consequences Of Your Cowardice."

Ryuk the traitor nods solemnly. "I'll hold you to that."

* * *

Undyne and Bracken wander around the darkness, calling for Alphys and Frisk. Undyne could care less about Toriel, but the old goat eventually rejoins them with sullen silence. All she says when pressed is that she was separated from Alphys and Frisk by the same rockslide.

The three come upon a vast well-lit cavern. Toriel lets out a shout of anger and blasts Asgore with a fireball upon seeing him. Undyne salutes the singed goat stiffly upon approaching him.

"Howdy, Undyne." Asgore pats her head and she forces herself to not flinch, forces herself to be cold, controlled, just like he taught her. _Stars_, she hates him. "I was in the middle of a death royale. Would you care to join my team?"

"Gee, thanks, old man, but we're good." Bracken saunters up, showing off in the zero-g environment by using his vines to hold him 'upright' on the ground.

"_Ngah_, he's right, we have to look for Al and Frisk!" Undyne snaps, scoffing to break the mental hold Asgore has on her.

"Alphys is dead." Toriel informs her coldly.

Undyne forces a loud laugh. "You fucker, that's not funny!" Toriel glares at her. Undyne stops laughing and gulps. "You're joking, right? You have to be jok-"

The world _glitches_ and two runabouts zoom from the ceiling, dropping from solid rock to the center of the cavern. Already, four Alliance starmas are gliding towards them. Bracken and Toriel start for them as well, gleeful at having a way out.

Undyne stammers. "Wait, we need to look for Alphys!"

"She's dead." Toriel says. "I told you. I killed her for her crimes against sedryn-kind, like I should have done when I first met her."

"_WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!!_" Undyne screams. Asgore grabs onto her arms before she can throw herself at Toriel. He drags her kicking and screaming into one of the runabouts. "_THAT'S NOT FUCKING FUNNY, WHERE IS SHE?? I NEED HER!! I NEED TO FIND HER!! FUCKING LET ME GO, YOU OLD BASTARD, LET ME GO, I NEED TO FIND MY WIFE!!_"

Asgore sighs as he forces her into the runabout. "My wife does not joke like that." He says quietly. "She prefers puns."

Undyne screams at him as he straps her in. She screams as whoever's piloting the damn runabout starts to fly it up and into the rock ceiling. She screams and screams until her throat is hoarse and the tears start to well in her eyes. If Alphys wasn't dead, they've just left her to die. "I won't forgive you!!" She snarls at Asgore. "I won't forgive any of you!! You just left her behind!! I- oh Rifli, I left my wife behind!!" Sobs break her down. Alphys was always so passionate. So kind and smart. How could they leave her??

Asgore tries to comfort her, but she snaps at his paw with her teeth. "Don't fucking talk to me!!" She shouts with stinging throat and eyes. "This is all your wife's fault!! I'm gonna fucking kill her!!"

"More death won't solve anything." Asgore tries to appease her with another stupid sage saying.

"Maybe not." She growls. "But vengeance would make me feel a HELL of a lot better!!"

* * *

Thirteen rounds in a game. One game to determine the fate of the four trapped here. Skoria decides everyone will take a turn shuffling and dealing, so if you go first, that's four rounds you can directly impact, and you'll have to be subtler for the other three needed to win. You know your deck backwards and forwards. This won't be hard. What will be hard is making Skoria lose believably in a way that won't piss it off.

Skoria can't read your mind in here. You're not sure why, but it hasn't been able to since it took you into its core. You can use that to your advantage, and then after you and Skoria lose, Papyrus and Frisk can get away, and then- you, uh, you'll bluff your way out or something, you're not that far yet, so you focus on the present and don't think about it.

This won't make up for getting Papyrus's starmas disintegrated. Not by a long shot. But it's a start to alleviating your guilt. You're not being brave, you're just refusing to think about the equally bad consequences of both failure and success. And you have a knack for escaping karma. Maybe, just maybe, you can win the gamble one last time.

Papyrus doesn't look at you except to scowl. You were lying earlier, his scowl isn't exactly ugly. But it hurts more now that there's good reason for him to be scowling at you. You paste a fake grin on your face and focus on Frisk, then stifle a laugh. "What's So Funny??" Papyrus demands.

Since there's not really any point in keeping the joke to yourself, and he might find it funny too, you say, "You're in a room alone with a murderer and a traitor- oh, and Skoria's here too."

Papyrus lets out a harsh bark of dry amusement, then looks peeved at himself for it. "I Fail To See Why You're So Amused By Your Own Transgression."

"I'm not." You mumble, another spike of guilt stabbing your chest.

Skoria takes the form of an adani woman and sits down. The form also just so happens to be the same form your mom would take to talk to the press. She smirks at you. You smile calmly, fighting off the surge of hatred. You can't let it show.

"Would you prefer I take a different form, partner?" Skoria-in-your-mom's-body purrs.

You shrug. "That's fine."

Skoria huffs. "No fun." And it reforms to another adani, this one a man. Frisk stares at it like they're seeing a ghost, and a nasty one at that.

"Actually, it was really bothering me, thanks." You say. Skoria laughs and switches back to your mom. It's unpleasant, but--_you deserve it--_you can't afford Frisk or Papyrus being handicapped by this weirdo. Apparently Skoria could read others' minds as well, not just yours. Maybe it only had more access to yours. This also proves that Skoria isn't just pretending to not read your mind in its core, it actually can't.

Assured that Skoria won't catch wind of your plan, you start to deal out the cards. Frisk whoops at her hand and you glare at her, trying to convey all the '_haven't you heard of a fucking poker face_' that you can. Papyrus doesn't have much of a poker face either, but you can tell he's at least trying to mislead with his expressions.

"Everyone know how to play now?" You ask after explaining the rules. Nobody agreed to strip, so that's out of the question _again_. You're honestly glad this time, because you have no desire to see mom naked. Skoria nods your mom's head, grinning widely--an expression you never saw on her, so it's a bit easier to disassociate Skoria from her now, but still.

The game begins with round one. You manipulated the cards to a win for Skoria, just to make it excited. If you space out Papyrus's wins so they seem like flukes, and only allow the bare minimum needed to let them win the game, then-

Skoria gives in and Frisk wins the round. What?? You handed that on a silver platter to it. Your irritation shows on your face, and Papyrus responds with an equally peeved glare. "Could You At Least Pretend To Be Torn Up About Trying To Defeat Us??"

You shrug. "Eh, why? You're an asshole and she's a murderer. Good riddance." It hurts to say, but you can pretend you're saying it about yourself and Skoria instead.

Skoria chuckles at you and flicks your chin. "Be nice~." You flinch, so of course Skoria takes that as an invitation to touch you more often.

Skoria wins the second round thanks to you. You've decided to try to get Frisk to win three of the seven wins needed and Papyrus to win four of them, and so Papyrus wins the third round. By round four, Skoria is curled in your lap, petting your shoulder as it reads its cards. You have to pretend to like it. When it's not looking, you shoot a pained grimace at the floor. The floor doesn't sympathize with you. Neither does Papyrus, as he smirks cruelly.

Frisk wins the fourth and fifth rounds. Skoria starts to get annoyed, so you let it win again for the sixth. The seventh proceeds in silence. You win this one and Skoria kisses your cheek, digging its fingernails into your annoyingly soft throat when you flinch. If you had scales, you might not mind it so much.

"Enough PDA." Papyrus snaps. "Get off of them. For all we know, you two could be cheating off each other."

Skoria huffs but slinks back to its chair. You glare at Papyrus and make a rude gesture, hiding your gratitude. "We weren't cheating, we'll beat you two fair and square."

Eight. Papyrus wins. Nine. You win. Ten. Skoria wins. The teams are tied with three to go. Papyrus wins the eleventh because Skoria wasn't paying attention. Because it's getting angry, you let it win again, and it's appeased.

"Hey, hey, Ruru, let me win the next one!!" Frisk cries, nearly giving up the entire hoax.

Skoria hisses at you. You remain outwardly calm despite the terror pounding in your veins. "Do I look like I control this game?? No, I don't. So shut up." Then you shuffle and deal so that Papyrus will win.

Skoria snatches up the cards before anybody can play their hand. "_I'll_ shuffle." It snarls.

You shrug, hiding the terror pounding in your veins. "Okay, sure."

Frisk gives up as soon as she sees her hand. Skoria hisses, frustrated with its own hand. You give up as well. Papyrus and Skoria remain. It's up to him now. He frowns as though disappointed with his cards, and you're ready to despair.

Then he glances at you for a split second. No glare, no scowl, just acknowledgement. Both he and Skoria show their hands. Papyrus wins. Relief catches you as the tension collapses.

"Fine." Skoria snarls. "A deal's a deal. What will you do with the traitor, hm?"

"Let us go and take Ryuk's soul!" Frisk cries. Papyrus glares at her, but doesn't protest.

Skoria chuckles. "Very well. There's a spacecraft coming for you anyway, you may get in and leave the planet like all your comrades have done. Ryuk will keep me company."

"Take Frisk to the runabout first." Papyrus orders. "I want to speak with Ryuk alone."

"Oh? Why?" Skoria asks, surprised.

"They were my lover before they betrayed me." Papyrus snarls. "I want to punish them."

You shrink in your seat. It's not hard to act terrified when you are. Skoria smirks and takes Frisk's arm, sashaying out with her. "Have fun~ please don't kill them~" It singsongs.

As soon as Skoria is gone, Papyrus stands up and starts for you. Dropping your eyes, you cringe and wait for painful blows to land or for magic to rip through you. "Come On." He says calmly. You blink and stand up, following obediently as he strides through the maze of Skoria's core.

"I-" You stammer, then choke back the words as he just looks at you. He doesn't even glare, he only looks sort of disappointed. "How?" _How'd he know??_

He doesn't answer. When he leads you into the central room of the core, you gape at the towering machinery. "Ryuk." He says sternly, crossing his arms. "I Need To Be Able To Trust You For This. So If You Fail Me, I Will Not Hesitate To Kill You."

"Yes, sir." You mumble.

"Start dismantling the CPU." He orders. "Shut down the in-core projector first."

You go to the massive central processing unit and poke at it. Its data floods you, but this time you stand your ground and shut down one system at a time. The lights flicker out. But you can see everything. The shut-down won't last long, but it will buy time to escape.

"Okay." You say. Papyrus just stares at you.

"Well, That Was Easier Than Expected." He says. A scream echoes from a distant corridor. "Come On!" He grabs your hand and drags you away from the computer, then bones spear up through it, mangling it. You see little nanites start to repair it, though, so that won't last long either. 

The walls start to collapse. Papyrus draws his talwar as he runs. Frisk claps when you come into view of her, and there's the runabout waiting for her. "There you are, Skoria just died!" She cries. "Who killed him??"

"I Did." Papyrus says as he runs for her.

She scowls and stomps her foot. "I wanted to!! It was my job to defeat him!!" A jagged piece of the ceiling falls at her feet. She picks it up. Papyrus slows to a cautious stride. "How dare you steal my kill!!"

"Put That Down." Papyrus growls.

You sidle cautiously to her. She ignores you. As you leap at her and grab the piece away, she howls, but her shout is drowned by a rumbling crack as a huge section of the wall caves in directly over Papyrus. He leaps forward, racing for you. You fail to restrain Frisk, who shoves him back with a shout of anger. The wall crumbles over him.

Frisk laughs. "Hee hee, now nobody needs to know!!" She cries happily.

Tears sting your eyes as you fall to your knees. His talwar comes to a spinning stop by your feet and you pick it up. "Frisk." You say quietly. "Get in the runabout." The dust has cleared, revealing the still alive Papyrus who groans in pain, one femur broken at an odd angle and the other trapped under the rubble. He's stuck and hurt. It would be a slow death if you left him like this.

"Okay, Ruru. Don't tell anybody, and I'll let you come with, okay? I'll even keep mum about how you tried to help Skoria torture us!!"

"Deal." You growl. "Let me take care of something, first."

He looks up at you when you approach him with his talwar. Your soul hardens as you raise the sabre up over your head. "Do It." He says in resignation and lays his skull back. "You Might As Well. But I Don't Forgive You."

_Thunk._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize this isn't the best structure-wise and in other regards too. I'm currently writing a completely original story based on this, though, and I'm trying to fix all the flaws I can. Constructive criticism would be welcome.


	11. Prepare Yourself For The Reckoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: graphic violence

Sans paces in the bridge. Runabouts fly from the planet, reporting to Dexi. Papyrus isn't in any of them. After a few hours of dead silence, the planet flickers and collapses, revealing a core of machinery. "get a runabout there." He orders Suzy, who salutes and obeys.

It takes around a half hour, but finally the last runabout glides through space towards the _Liltha_. Sans glares at it. "suzy." He says. "open a comlink with it."

"Sir-" Dexi starts but he cuts her off.

"if Papyrus ain't in there, shoot it down." He snarls.

Suzy salutes past Dexi's objections and takes over the coms console. "_Rysc_, this is the _Liltha_, report your status."

No reply. The runabout cancels the link. Sans growls under his breath. Suzy looks to him for further instruction. "let'em in. i'll kill'em myself if they left him behind." He shortcuts down to the hangar and waits for the runabout to dock.

It does so unsteadily, like the pilot barely ever flew before. And then the door opens and Frisk hops out, glowering as she shoves past Sans, who dodges her. "hey, pal, where's-"

"Oh, shut up, Sansy!!" She flounces around the corner.

Welp. Sans can always hunt her down later. He steps into the runabout and sees the kid. They flinch and duck their head at him, then gesture to the back room.

He grabs them by the nape of the neck as he passes, dragging them along with. "he better be in here, kiddo."

And then he sees, and well, Sans has seen worse. But he's also seen better. Papyrus lays unconscious on one of the emergency cots, his heavy labored breaths rattling in his spine. A blanket covers him. Sans staggers and kneels beside his brother. "Paps." He presses a hand to Papyrus's temple.

"Sans-" Ryuk starts.

"thank you." Sans says, close to tears. "i thought you left him behind. thank you, ryuk, for bringing him back."

They let out a small sob. "Sans, I- I need to show you. He- he's not okay. Frisk is getting MK."

"what's wrong with him? he seems fine enough, low hp, yeah, but i'm guessing skoria did that to him."

Ryuk winces and then balls a fist in the blanket. They seem to collect their courage before yanking it off. Sans chokes, fury consuming his ribs. "who did that." He growls. Papyrus's right leg has been cleanly chopped off in the middle of the femur. The other is bent in a painful-looking break.

"I- I did." They admit. "Sans, I-"

He cuts them off with a hand to their shoulder. "kid, i understand if ya had to do it to save him. still pissed though, just not with you."

Papyrus raises his head and grabs Sans's hand. He snarls, "Don't Touch Them, Sans. They're _Mine_." Ryuk winces, shame-faced. 

"i won't, bro, okay? yer gonna be fine, yer safe now." Sans soothes. "mk's on his way."

"Ryuk Is In Disgrace. Put Them In The Brig Until I Can Discipline Them." Papyrus growls. Ryuk cringes back, and Sans sees the guilt in their eyes. That much ain't warranted just for cutting off his bro's leg to save him. Something else entirely is going on.

"okay, bro." Sans says. "but we'll wait for mk, okay?" He wants to know how Ryuk got in trouble with his bro, but he can be patient. "kiddo, you can tell me later why my bro's pissed at you, okay?"

"Okay." They say sullenly. "Y-you're gonna be pissed too."

"of course, but i'll be more pissed if i have to hear it from him instead of you, capiche?" Sans says, rapping their head with his knuckles. They nod.

MK rushes into the runabout with a couple nurses, so Sans steps back and grabs Ryuk by the arm, then yanks them through a shortcut. They collapse onto the couch in his quarters. "okay, kiddo, you stay here and don't touch my stuff. i'm gonna be with my bro for a couple hours, but then i'll deal with ya." Sans says sternly.

The kid shrinks into the cushions meekly. Sans shortcuts to the sickbay. MK's nurses rush Papyrus in and start working on healing him. He's stable, so there's no fear of him dying, but he's never gonna get the one leg back. Sans watches the nurses work, just relieved to have his brother back, leg or no leg.

"heya, bro." He saunters up to Paps when the nurses are done. Papyrus grumbles under his breath. "come on, it ain't that bad, at least ya ain't dead."

"True." Papyrus allows. "And Luon Said He Can Make A Prosthetic, So In The End, I Suppose It Works Out."

"can i hug ya?" Sans pleads.

Papyrus sighs. "Very Well. I Could Use A Hug."

Sans hugs his little brother tightly. "i thought you were dead, bro."

"I thought I was dead too, a few times." Papyrus says drily.

"welp, you ain't dead yet. try to stay that way, huh."

"Yes, Sans." Papyrus sighs again. "I Meant What I Said. Don't Touch Ryuk. Oh, And Put Frisk In The Brig Too."

"sure, bro. i'll let you deal with the kid. you want me to deal with frisk?" Sans's grin remains steady as he lies.

"Do So. She Nearly Killed Me." Papyrus grumbles. "She Would Have Succeeded If Ryuk Hadn't Stepped In."

Sans holds back from asking what Ryuk did. He'll give the kid a chance to explain themself before he thrashes them. Papyrus eventually dismisses him, tired and wanting to sleep, so Sans returns to his quarters, exhausted as well.

* * *

Right after Sans tells you to stay here and not touch his stuff and then leaves, you get up cautiously and start searching. You make sure to carefully leave everything exactly how it was after checking it. When you find what you're looking for, thankfully, it's in an easy-to-carry knapsack, so you hide it in the ants' nest and then return.

As soon as you close the grate to the ants' nest, you hear the soft crack of Sans's shortcut. You spin around and try to smile innocently. He grins back, his sockets dark. "tryna escape, huh? bit late for that."

"I- I'm scared." You mumble. It's not a lie, either.

"you didn't touch anything, didja? you'd be askin' for a dunking if ya did, Paps's claim or no."

"I didn't move any of your stuff." You say honestly.

Sans gives you a suspicious glare before looking over his room. Finally seeming satisfied that nothing is out of place, he saunters back and motions for you to stand before him as he sits on the couch. "i ain't mad yet, but i am sleepy, so make it quick, kiddo."

You drop your eyes, trying to think of some trick of phrasing that makes what you did sound at least palatable. But there isn't any, so you just start at the beginning and tell him about your cards, tell him about Skoria in your head, and then about your stupid foolish cowardly decision to lead the group to the soldier ants' nest in return for your own life. You try not to cry, but you can't really help breaking down into sobs at the end. Tears won't make Sans any more or less merciful anyway.

"so, let me get this straight, kid." Sans says as you tremble before him. "you betrayed my brother so you'd live, right?"

"Y-yes-" You stop yourself from trying to use the defense that you had no other option. Sans wouldn't see it that way, and he'd get even more pissed.

"and then what." Sans says.

You glance up in confusion. He motions for you to continue. "you heard me. he's obviously not dead, and neither are any of the others who were in your group, so what happened?"

They were teleported away. Not disintegrated. Relief dumps over you in bucket loads. Nobody died because of you. "We- we fought Skoria with a poker game and won." You tell him, unable to resist a small smirk at that.

"ah. my bro said he was caught in falling rubble after frisk tried to kill him. that so?"

"Yes."

"so. i guess yer wondering what yer punishment is, huh." He says lightly. You look down again. He snaps his fingers for your attention. "sounds like Paps got that figured out, though. i ain't allowed to touch ya, so all i'm gonna do right now is take those cards."

"Wh-why-"

"oh, don't get me wrong, kiddo, i'm not lettin' ya off the hook. i'm just too tired to think of a good enough punishment right now. haven't slept ever since skoria took my brother."

You flinch at that. "So-"

"so you're gonna hand'em over, kid." He holds out a hand. You reach for your cards unwillingly. Knowing his sadistic streak, he could just destroy them.

But it's better than him destroying _you_. So you give the deck to him. He grabs your fingers before you can pull away and he raps his other hand hard over the back of your hand. Tears spring again to your eyes, partially from the sting of the blow, partially because you know you deserve worse than a simple smack. "I- I'm s-sorry." You choke on the words, knowing it's not enough.

"go to the brig, kiddo. i'm gonna lock you inside after i take a nap, but i don't wanna chase ya down." He says. "and when yer punishment _does_ come, ya better be prepared, cause it's gonna be a doozy."

He falls asleep, effectively dismissing you, so you leave his room and head back into the ants' nest to fetch what you stole. Then you sneak to sickbay and drop inside after checking the coast is clear.

"Here." You hide the knapsack of survival gear under Papyrus's blanket. "For what it's worth, I really am sorry."

Papyrus reaches over and grabs your arm. "I Still Don't Forgive You." He snarls. "And You're Goddamned Lucky Nobody Died From That Stunt."

"Y-yeah."

"But." He sighs and pats your head. "I Will Give You A Chance To Prove Yourself, Since You Did Save My Life After Everything. So Don't Despair. You Can Become Better."

It hurts, knowing his faith is misplaced. It hurts to know he's wrong and you can never change this pathetic cowardly persona. You'll never be brave, just like you'll never be a dragon. "Okay." You mumble and then leave him and sneak back to the brig, huddling in one corner.

Sans shortcuts into the brig a few hours later, sockets black with anger. Guilty fear makes you sink into the corner as though hoping he won't see you. But, to your immense relief, he's not focusing his wrath on you just yet, since his glare is firmly locked on Frisk. He gives her a scathing tirade, as she glowers sullenly. You tune it out.

****TW: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE TILL NEXT ASTERISKS****

He finally breaks her down to tears, promising to punish her when he thinks of a harsh enough sentence. And then, satisfied, he turns to you. "_pal_." He says darkly. "you fucked this one up big time. stand up."

You obey, nerves on fire with painful apprehension. He hands your cards over. "hold these out."

Fear comes over you and you flinch back from the proffered deck. "Wh-why?"

"because i said so." He retorts. "now do ya want me to find a worse punishment, or are ya gonna do what i told you to?? hold'em out, like that, yes." You obey. "now stay still. look at me." He orders.

A whining sound comes from just above you. Cold dread floods you as you recognize the noise to be from one of his rarely-used dragon skulls. He's going to burn your hands, and with them, your cards. Tears well in your eyes but you bite your lip to keep from begging for mercy or screaming, and you keep perfectly still, locking your eyes on Sans's pink bunny slippers.

The blaster fires down and you taste blood as your hands blister and burn under the energy beam. A keening scream chokes the breath in your throat as Sans counts up to five eternal seconds before the agonizing blast mercifully ends. When it's over, the pain still pounds violently in your skin, the ashes of your cards sticking to your charred palms. You duck your head in vain to hide the tears burning down your cheeks, and unclench your teeth, your lip nearly bitten through. "Th-thank you." You manage to choke through the thick knot in your throat and the blood in your mouth.

"if ya go to mk an' ask him to heal you after this," Sans says, almost gently, "it'll scar, but you won't lose function."

"O-okay." Blood dribbles from your lip, dripping onto the floor.

"i ain't done, though." Sans's tone hardens. "that one was for my bro's leg." Your eyes sting with helpless tears and you let out a small despairing sob. "if you hadn't weakened him beforehand, he woulda been able to use his magic to get himself free just fine. now, for leading my bro into a death trap-"

His blue magic, heavy as iron, grasps you and lifts you into the air. Dreadful terror drags a weak frightened whimper from between your gritted teeth. Sans sighs. "kid, i always was fond of ya. how about this, in light of all the good times we had, and the fact you _did_ save my bro in the end, i'll let ya off easy. one thrashing and then a few months of shunning, okay?"

"_Thank you,_" You sob.

"now, since i'm technically not allowed to _touch_ you, i'm gonna get creative again." He says with a wink and flicks his hand up. That's the only warning you get.

Everything blurs and pain slams into your back as you hit the ceiling, Sans's blue magic holding you there. Then it releases and a desperate shriek escapes you before the floor smacks into you and knocks the wind from your lungs. He picks you up again and you struggle for air as you dangle in the grasp of blue tendrils, one leg limp with a sharp ache like it's broken.

"there. it's over, kiddo." He says gently. You can only reply with broken weeping, wheezing for breath as every bone in your body hurts as though a sledgehammer was taken to you, and your charred hands are in renewed agony. You're not sure it's possible to be in any more pain. "pity you couldn't be this brave with skoria."

Nope, it definitely is possible, proven by the knives of guilt and shame shredding your soul as you descend into hysterical sobbing. "I'm s-sorry!" 

"give me about a month or two." Sans says. "then i'll forgive you. but if i see you before then, it gets worse, capiche?"

"Y-yes."

"and, kiddo, the mutiny was strike one. this stunt was strike two." He says sternly. "one left before i strap ya to the hull right as we leap into warp. now go see the doctor. i won't keep ya in the brig, since you know you'll be in more trouble if ya try to run away." You make a meek noise of acknowledgement, and he turns to Frisk again. "an' don't worry, pal, i haven't forgotten you. i'm just too tired to deal with both of you at once." After setting you back on your feet, he disappears.

You collapse to the ground carefully, cradling your agonized hands to your chest and hiccuping from your tears. He technically gave an order to go to sickbay, but you can't bring yourself to obey. MK is there, for one, and so is Papyrus, two people you want to avoid.

"Hee hee, it hurts, doesn't it!" Frisk cheers. You glare sullenly at her. "Don't feel bad. He's killed me hundreds of times, so you got off easy. Oh yeah! Skoria told me to ask you-"

"Shut up." You snap at her. She has no room to mock you for being in pain, not when she's next. "Just- shut the fuck up."

"Asshole." She retorts. "You're lucky I haven't told Sans about you trying to defeat us at cards!!"

You stare at her in hazy confusion. Is she that much of an idiot?? "I was- stacking the odds- _for_ you." You hiss. "I _made_ you win."

"Hmph." She crosses her arms and pouts. "You only made _me_ win three times."

"First time was a fluke." You mutter. Forget this, you'd rather beanywhere else than talking to Frisk. You stagger to your unbroken leg and start limping for the ants' nest before remembering you'd need to crawl in the small spaces, and you can't with your hands being all charred and one leg being broken. You really would rather avoid the traffic of the halls. But you go out anyway and limp to your broom closet, thankfully avoiding anybody you know.

****TW END****

Back in the safety of your own space, your 'quarters' that aren't real quarters but just an old unused maintenance closet, you find burn cream and gauze, and carefully wash your hands free of ashes and pus before applying the cream and painstakingly wrapping the gauze around each finger and your palms. It's difficult and painful to do it on both hands, since both are in agony, but you somehow manage.

After your hands are taken care of, you make a makeshift splint for your leg out of metal rods and gauze, and grab a spare cane you stole from a uiloth chancellor when he came to visit three years ago. He was an asshole to Papyrus, so you and Sans kept pranking him the whole time he was on board. Tears well in your eyes again as you gently lower yourself onto your nest of blankets and various other soft things. You fucked everything up. Now everyone hates you and you deserve every second of it.

The worst part is, you would have still done the same exact thing if you could redo it all. Maybe knowing there was an actual exit would have helped, but you still haven't learned your lesson. You can't. It's too hard a lesson to swallow, not when every single nerve blares at you to avoid death at any cost.

Maybe- maybe you can just stay in here, hiding, until everyone forgets about you. Maybe you can die a slow and painful death hidden away and ignored. You're scared of the thought, sure, but the pain in your body won't let you move, and the bitterness against yourself is stronger. You can't become a better person. So you might as well rot.

* * *

The death count turns out to be only three people, two of which died of injuries sustained in fighting Asgore, and Alphys, who was left behind and never came back. MK works nonstop to get his nurses organized and his patients healed. He doesn't even have time to talk to Papyrus, and Sans is hanging around anyway, so MK gives the two space. Luon helps him, a stable presence in the maelstrom of activity.

When the sickbay is finally calmer, he staggers and Luon catches him. "Yo, we did it." He says, stunned.

"We did."

"We made it out! Without fighting!"

"We did, indeed."

"I feel like I'm dreaming, and I'm about to wake up in darkness again." MK admits.

"Me too." Luon pats his head. "But I have a way to fix that."

"Really?" MK raises a scaly eyebrow.

"Just come to my quarters, Doctor, and I'll show you." The amlyg smirks.

MK's muzzle flushes with heat. "I- I don't know, Commander."

"I was going to suggest a good bottle of wine for both of us." Luon says snootily. "We hardly know each other well enough for much else."

The heat--embarrassment and something else--doesn't abate. "That sounds great, yo."

Luon leads MK back to his quarters and the two crack open a bottle of wine, the strong stuff. MK has the bright idea to invite a few more people and so a small party is held. For a brief moment, he wonders if Ryuk will crash the party and drag everyone into a game of strip poker, but then he shakes his head. He's still mad and doesn't want to see them.

Frisk ends up crashing the party instead, and nobody's quite sure how she escaped from the brig. She drinks a single glass of wine and then woozily hands over a tablet to Luon as MK scowls at her. "Al-Alphys tolded me ta give you this. Said if'n ya can figgur out the-" She taps her fingers in the air like writing on an imaginary keyboard, "-the code, you desherve it. Gimme chocolate, eh??" She whines and MK has to snatch the tablet with his magic before she drops it.

"Alphys's research, hm." Luon muses, sniffing the air. "Thank you, Frisk." MK scowls again at that, but nods tersely in begrudging agreement.

"D-don' thank tha' bish," Frisk snarls drunkenly. "'M Car- Car- Car Crash!" She makes an explosion gesture with her hands. "_Kablooie_."

Luon looks confused. MK just shrugs. "Yo, thanks for this, but fuck off."

Frisk wanders out, and MK honestly hopes she trips and breaks a leg or an arm or _something_. Luon's tongue flicks in and out of his muzzle. "Godsdamnit." MK says.

"What?"

"You can't see, yo, and I have no arms, so how are we supposed to open it??"

"That's what other people are for." Luon chuckles. "N'kha, over here."

N'kha is the chief engineer who technically never passed his officer examinations but has the duties and pay-grade of a lieutenant anyway. He's also a cute tiger-like miriel. He takes the tablet as MK releases it. "It'll errrase the content afterr thrree trries." He says after examining it for a moment.

"Yo, that's a cute background pic. Undyne and Alphys are under a waterfall, and there's a little baby sketched in with the name '_Ross_'." MK describes it aloud for Luon.

Luon shakes his head. "Mil-Gwedh. Do you know the language the name is in?"

"Yeah, Eglathrin, why?"

"What numbers are the letters associated with?"

MK tries to think back to the old language classes. "I don't think they really had any particular order until- oh, Alphys standardized it with one of the adani languages, Greek!"

"So what would '_R'_ be?"

MK counts in his head, running through the alphabet. "Seventeen! Oh, and I think '_a_' is one, and then 's' is eighteen."

"Try one-seven-one-one-eight."

N'kha puts it in. It unlocks and MK lets out a whoop, then tumbles into Luon accidentally. Luon catches him, but in the process, their muzzles mash into each other. MK blinks in confusion, realizing he must be drunk, as his cheeks burn and he feels all light and fluttery. "S-sorry, yo." He says, giggling. Luon breaks the accidental kiss first and pats his head.

"Quite alright, Mil-Gwedh."

N'kha chuckles, shaking his head, and sets the tablet down on the table, then frownsat it.

"Oh." MK looks down at the tablet as well and sobers. "Oh dear." 

"What?" Luon asks, cocking his head.

"Alphys's suicide note." MK says glumly, looking at the second background picture, a screenshot of a lengthy message. "Yo, she killed herself."

"We ought to show this to Admiral Undyne, but she may break it." Luon says.

"Yo, I would too if I were her. Thanks, N'kha."

The mood is more sober now, so MK and Luon retire to another room to talk alone. When they return, late into the ghost shift, most of the others have gone. MK and Luon end up discussing random things for a while longer until they both fall asleep on the couch, leaning on each other.

* * *

Undyne paces outside of sickbay. Then she gathers her courage and storms inside. Papyrus groans when he sees her. "Can't I Get A Break Already?? And No, That Wasn't Supposed To Be A Pun."

Undyne narrows her eye at him. "Papyrus, you better not die on me!!" She bellows.

"I'm Fine, Undyne." He snaps back. "It's Just My Legs." He's shaking, Undyne notices. He's shaking like he wants to cry but won't let himself. Fuhu, he always was a tough one!

Undyne sniffles. Tears sting in her own eye when she remembers the suicide note MK showed her from her wife's tablet. She let MK keep the tablet and the research. She broke a few spare mugs instead, the ones Alphys gave her just for that purpose. Alphys always helped her find safe things to break so that Undyne wouldn't end up breaking anything precious. "Papyrus." She says, dropping into the chair by his bed. "Alphys- She's- She's _dead_. That _motherfucker_ Toriel killed her. I just lost my wife. I can't lose my best friend, too." She stares at the floor, grinding her teeth, waiting for him to mock her for being weak or to pity her weakness. She's not sure which would be worse.

He does neither, though. "What's The Plan?" He asks calmly, placing a hand on her arm. "When Do We Kill Toriel?"

Undyne bursts into tears, bawling as she collapses over Papyrus, wrapping her arms around him tightly. Papyrus pats her back awkwardly. "Alphys Was Good For You." He says. "I'll Miss Her."

"You better get on your feet real fast, you bastard!!" She wails. "Or I'll have to make that brat Bracken help me!!"

"I'm Sure He'd Love To." Papyrus retorts. "When's Our Next Spar, Anyway? We Should Invite Him, And I'm Going To Drag Someone Else Along Too."

"You fucker." Undyne sobs. "You goddamned bitch."

Papyrus's fingers run through her hair, separating locks and winding them around each other into an intricate braid. The feel of his hands against her head soothes her. "I'm Right Here, Undyne. I'm Not Going Anywhere."

She chuckles in between sobs as she realizes he's probably planning to take her down in the next fight and regain control of the fleet, but she welcomes the challenge. He won't steal her command that easily, fuhuhu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^^;; can you tell I don't like Sans very much?


	12. You Held Your Guard

You don't know how long you just lay here. Days, maybe. You can't move. You can barely breathe and every single movement, including breath, hurts badly. But you don't care. You're past caring. It doesn't matter anymore. You're a coward so you might as well take the cowardly way out.

But then light shafts in over you and a loud noise pierces through the haze surrounding you. "THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN A GODDAMN BROOM CLOSET ALL WOUNDED LIKE THIS??" Oh. Damn it. It's Papyrus. "WOWIE, YOU LOOK LIKE SHIT. UGH, AND SMELL LIKE IT TOO."

You're too far gone to care, but you imagine flipping him off and the image makes you snort a bit in amusement. Mistake. That hurt. Then you're jostled and two supports go under your shoulders and knees, picking you up. Hazily, you wonder if you have wings that you could bat him with. "UNDYNE, LET MK KNOW I FOUND A NEW PATIENT FOR HIM. HE'LL BE _DELIGHTED_." For some reason, you think he's being sarcastic.

You moan softly as the pain of his loud voice hammers in your head. "OH, I'M SO SORRY, DOES MY VOLUME BOTHER YOU??" He snarls. "TOO FUCKING BAD. I'M PISSED WITH YOU."

Right. _Right_. You were supposed to stay in the brig. Fuck. "S-sorry." You grate out through a mouth coated in dried blood and a neglected tongue.

"_SORRY_ ISN'T GOING TO HELP YOU ANY." He retorts. "BUT I'LL DEAL WITH YOU AFTER YOU'RE HEALED. DID SANS DO THIS??"

"N-no." You lie.

"DON'T BOTHER TRYING TO DECEIVE ME." He snaps, jostling your bruises painfully as he roughly repositions you in his arms. "YOU'RE ONLY GETTING YOURSELF INTO MORE TROUBLE."

"Th-then yeah." You admit weakly.

"AND WHY DIDN'T YOU COME TO SICKBAY??"

"Didn't wanna see your scowl." You mumble, trying to be insolent, but it falls short and ends up being guiltily bashful instead.

Papyrus huffs. Then he sets you down on a soft mattress when he reaches sickbay. You want to melt into it, become the mattress, never have to hurt or be hurt again. He disappears out of view of your limited squinting sight, so you assume he's gone. MK comes up to you, scowling sternly. "H-hey." You say, trying to smile, but even that hurts to do.

"You _idiot_." MK chastises. "You should have come to me immediately."

"Why?" You mutter. "It's not like I deserve your mercy."

"Yo, that's bullshit." MK snaps. "Yeah, you may not _deserve_ it. But that doesn't mean you don't still _need_ it." One of the nurses, a curunir, comes up. You wince as she starts to cut away the gauze around your hands, but she doesn't force any emotions into you with her touch and the gauze comes off after a bit of hot water and a lot of pain.

MK glares at you. "You could have at least made my job easier, too, yo."

"Sorry." You say meekly. "I thought- I thought it would be better if I just laid down and rotted. Since- since I can't be brave."

"Yo, where'd you get that dumbass idea in your head??" MK snarls. You shrink into the bed. The nurse focuses a healing matrix around your hands, burning the old dead charred skin off as new skin starts to grow to replace it. It's a painful process, but you'd rather focus on that than on MK's demand.

"M-my mom-" He knows about your mom. He's probably the only person besides Bracken you've ever told.

"_Fuck_ your mom!" MK snaps at you. The nurse ignores him and continues calmly healing you. You admire her powers of concentration. "Fuck her and fuck all the authority figures who get in your way, yo, hasn't that always been your philosophy, Ryuk??"

"I mean, yeah, but-" You weakly try to protest.

"But nothing. Tell me something." He snaps, shutting you down. "Yo, do you love your mom??"

Hatred tunnels your vision at the thought of her. "_No_." You spit.

MK grins triumphantly. "Yo, congratulations, Ryuk! You went against her dumb rules!!"

"Yeah, but becoming- _not a coward_ is different, I can't do that. I'm not allowed to die." You complain, your hands feeling like they're on fire, but quickly getting less painful. MK makes a small chain attack which stings as it hits your chest. "_Ow_." The attack yanks your soul from your chest. You look away from the ugly sight, staring at the ceiling instead.

"That stuff you just said is utter bullshit." MK says matter-of-factly. "Souls are always so pretty. You have one. It's a shame you don't use it."

"What do you mean." You mutter, starting to get angry. 

"Ryuk, yo, you may be artificial or whatever, but this is a real soul. Nobody can replicate souls." MK says. "And if there's one thing those're good at, yo, it's _changing_ and _growing_."

"But-"

"But _nothing_. You can change, you just don't want to." He says. "You'd rather pretend you can't than be faced with the fact that you _have to_ in order to survive."

You close your eyes to hold back frustrated tears. "Okay." You growl. "What if you're right. What do I do?"

"You apologize and try to do better." MK says. "And I don't mean a simple _sorry_, I mean trying to _fix it _and make up for whatever dumbass shit you did."

"I- I'll try." You say, clenching your hands now that they're healed. They're still sore from the accelerated healing, and the scars are painfully tender.

MK nods firmly. "I know you will, yo. Now, I'm gonna need to re-break your leg because you were an idiot and didn't set it properly when you refused to come to sickbay." You wince but nod to give permission.

A bit later, you're completely healed and washed. Well, apart from your leg, which will take a couple more days, but you can at least limp on it and you have a cane in your closet, so it won't be too much of a problem. So you roll off the bed. And then blink in dazed horror as Papyrus stands up from his seat just a few meters away. "Y-you were right there- the whole time?" You ask nervously. He confirms it with a terse nod. You duck your head and grumble, "Just kill me now."

"Not Yet." He says. "I Do Have Questions, But Those Can Wait. Follow Me. Quickly, Now, I Don't Have Much Time Since I'm Not Sure How Long Bracken Can Hold Undyne's Interest."

You obey, limping after him. He huffs after a few minutes of this slow pace through the halls, and offers his arm. You heat in embarrassment but take it for support. His prosthetic leg is hidden by his black fisherman pants. He seems to walk just fine on it, though.

He drags you to his office. You try in vain to hide behind him when you enter the bridge, but the officers on duty still notice and glare at you. You're glad to escape their scowls when the door of his office shuts behind you. And then it's _his_ scowl you desperately want to escape as he sits down behind his desk and motions for you to sit as well.

You drop into one of the chairs. "I-" You stammer, not sure what you're going to say, but willing to improvise. He ignores you, working on something in the holoscreen above his desk. You can't make it out, though.

"What is expected of an Ensign third-class?" He surprises you with the non sequitur, not looking at you.

"U-uh, depends on their specialty?"

"Assume that they're cross-trained for most divisions." He replies, giving nothing away in his tone or look.

"Third-class. Generally they work under a Lieutenant and do the stuff they're told to, but they can take charge of a team of up to ten people." You reply after a moment of thought.

"What's the difference between a first-class and third class Ensign?" He asks.

"The insignia and callsign. And the duties for first-class are more rigorous and work them towards promotion to Lieutenant. But you already know this-"

"Correct. This Is Not For Me." He replies. "And To Be Honest, You're Surprising Me."

"I've been here five years, du- uh, sir." You correct yourself quickly, realizing it's probably a bad idea to be casually insolent with him right now. He nods thoughtfully, ignoring your near-slip. "I picked things up."

"Would You Consider Yourself A Fast Learner?"

"Yeah, I guess."

He smiles at that. The look scares you. "Perfect." He stands up then and hands you a tablet. You take it with no small amount of confusion. "On this, you will find several packets. Each one is a lesson. Read it, take notes, and complete the assessment at the end."

Realization dawns as you look through each packet. These are officer training courses. "Sir, why-"

He sits down again and interlocks his fingers. He's always wearing gloves, you notice. "Because, To Be Frank, This Is Quite Possibly The Worst Punishment I Could Give You After What You've Done." It still doesn't make any sense. This doesn't seem like a very harsh punishment. True, it would be a pain to have authority, and also everyone hates you- oh. Yep, he's a sadist. He smirks at the look on your face. "This Isn't All."

"Oh."

"You Will Also Join Undyne, Bracken, And Myself For Our Practice Spars." He says. You wince; that's going to hurt. "And Your Work Will Include What You've Already Been Doing, Cooking, Cleaning, And Counseling, As Well As Your Additional Duties." His scary smile widens grimly. "I Noticed Something Interesting The Other Day. We Have No Chief Of Morale. So That's The Position You'll Be Training For."

You're not in any way able to refuse this. You shrink into your seat and accept the punishment with a meek, "Yes, sir."

"Until You Are Enlisted And Assigned A Post, You Will Stay In The Brig During Your Free Time." He adds. "You May Study In Here, But Come To The Gym At Oh-Three-Hundred Every Day For Training. That Is All."

"Yes, sir." You say again. He stops speaking to you, and after a few minutes he gets up and leaves to go spar with Undyne. You let out a quiet growl as you glower at the first course. You could purposefully fail them all, but you're not sure you want to find out what will happen if you do. So you'll just have to do what MK told you to. Try your best to fix things and make up for what you've done.

* * *

During the few days that Papyrus was in sickbay being healed and getting a prosthetic leg, he had time to think. He's always avoided thinking too deeply before, but he was forced to by the boredom of being forced to sit down and do nothing. He thought about the state of his fleet. Many officer positions are open from the conflict with Frisk, and he's low on starmas too. He'll have to take people from the Alliance to fill the roles.

He tries to remain awake as much as possible, since sleep has been bringing painful nightmares. But the weight of his old survival gear in his inventory, returned to him courtesy of Ryuk, soothes him when he wakes from dreams of being paralyzed and eaten alive in pitch black darkness. He won't be caught off guard again. He swings his legs under his desk, feeling the weight of his prosthetic. It's close to his other leg, but slightly off, just enough to be minorly disorienting. It's made of a shiny black metal, and his femur was grown into the tendril-connector with nanites that Luon got from the Vaux, so it appears as though a corruption is creeping up his leg, which is a totally badass, albeit disconcerting, appearance to have.

Ryuk lets out a quiet growl at one of their test questions. Papyrus hides his smirk. He had a different punishment in mind at first, but he's happy with this method. Considering that Ryuk is a social creature who loves to fit in with the regular starmas and butt against authority, _being_ the authority and being forced to submit to higher authorities, as well as being subjected to hatred and harsh hazing from both their subordinates and their fellow officers, will hurt them more than simple imprisonment ever could. He's still pissed at Sans for _nearly killing_ them. Papyrus's way also has more of a chance at rehabilitating Ryuk, so it's a win-win in his eyes.

He glances back at Ryuk, who bites their scarred lower lip as they start onto the tenth course, before he heads out the door to meet with Undyne. It's only the second day of their studies and they've already passed the first nine courses, so they're doing better than he expected them to. They completely failed the first day of training with him and Undyne, though, and they've been sitting gingerly due to Undyne's over-exuberance. "We're Skipping Training Today." He decides. He's too busy with the trade deals, and he can't let Undyne be distracted either. In a week or so, everything will calm down.

As he strides through the halls to the conference room, he considers what to say. He needs to discuss the trading the fleet has done already with the Vaux, which have been allowed by Undyne's incompetence to become almost egregiously tilted in the Vaux's favor. Thankfully most of the Vaux are kind enough to not be too cutthroat, but it's still unacceptable.

There's still the matter of Toriel, as well, who fled to the Vaux upon catching wind of the death sentence on her. The Vaux have granted temporary asylum, but Undyne is determined to kill her and so it takes nearly all Papyrus has to keep her from trying to fight the Vaux. He steps inside the conference room and salutes to Undyne, who waves back. He then gives a polite yet shallow bow to the Vaux ambassador and her three advisors. Their goopy branch-like arms bend forward around central circular and sharp-toothed mouths in their version of a salute. The odd tree-like, or perhaps more coral-like, species has no eyes, but they still adapted video technology in order to more effectively communicate with sighted species in space.

Lieutenant Dexi stands beside Undyne, ready to translate. She turns pink and waves to him. Right, he's still technically dating her, he remembers with a sour taste in his jaws. He merely nods back and she flickers red, a micro-expression of anger that disappears as quickly as it came.

Ambassador Sans stands by Dexi to tell her what to say, and Commander Suzy is here too as ambassador-in-training. Commander Luon, as the Science Officer, sits on Undyne's other side, here to request access to technology. Lieutenant Esther sits beside him; as Chief of Operations, she needs to trade for food and other necessities. Her arm is in a sling, burn scars stretching from her hand to her shoulder and up her neck--Asgore's doing, and Papyrus wishes he could thrash the ex-king for harming and killing two of his starmas and his officer, but he's not strong enough to take the old goat to task.

The discussion begins with Undyne demanding Toriel back, _of course_. Papyrus redirects it to the matter of being allowed to land on a planet. "We'll only take what we need." He promises. "We don't have much." He hopes to reach an agreement that will allow the fleet to furlough on one of the planets and collect resources from there, but he doubts that will happen in this star system.

"You're _Lost_, aren't you." The Vaux ambassador says, and Dexi translates with a flicker of orange confusion.

"We, the Gil-Mista, are a long way from home and unfamiliar with this sector of space." Papyrus convinced Undyne to name the combined fleet Gil-Mista-- _Star-Wanderers--_ after a heated argument.

"Yes, the _Lost_. You came from Their wormholes."

Papyrus perks up at that. Undyne scowls at him. She'll be pissed if he tries to pursue a way home. And he's not the admiral _yet_, he still needs to fight her for that position. So he sits back again and lets the conversation wander on without digging into the lead just yet.

Finally, the conference ends peaceably and the Vaux teleport to their ship. Apparently their teleporters only work one way, so to get them into the _Liltha_, a runabout was sent for them. The trades went well this time. Luon managed to get permission to study their nanite and teleportation technologies, Esther convinced them to let the fleet land on the first planet from the sun, and Undyne finally gave up on getting Toriel back, instead deciding to send Frisk to the Vaux as well. Sans really did a number on Frisk when delivering her thrashing, and MK refuses to heal her, so it's probably for the best she gets away before Sans kills her. Papyrus will come back for her before he finds a way back to the Milky Way.

Undyne stands up and stretches, yawning and baring all her teeth like a lioness. "Well, that sucked." She says. "Come on, Papyrus, we're sparring. Bring that wimp again, that was real cute of them to try climbing into the girders yesterday, but I have a counter!! _Spears_!!"

"Not Today, Undyne, I'm Busy." Papyrus replies, looking to Dexi. He needs to take care of this first. Undyne laughs and slaps his shoulder before storming out.

Dexi comes up to him and takes his hand, trying to pull him into a kiss. He turns his head, fighting back the affection she's placing in his soul. "No." He says.

She lets go and steps back, flickering red anger. "What do you mean??"

"I Think You Should Find Someone Else To Date." He says with stern resolve. "I Don't Need To Be Fixed By You."

"Papyrus-" She starts to cry, mercury tears slipping from her starry eyes. "Don't say that, I love you."

He sighs as he finally sees what he'd been avoiding. "Don't Lie To Me. I'm Not Sure I Ever Loved You, Either."

"You did at first." She says tearfully. "I thought you were better at committing."

"I Am." He retorts. "But Not When I'm Being Emotionally Manipulated. I Know What You Were Doing, Dexi, But As Long As You Don't Try To Do That To Anyone Else, We Can Part Peaceably."

"I'm so sorry for loving you, then." She cries, nearly brushing him as she starts to go past, but he sways back so she misses. "Here I thought you _wanted_ to be my boyfriend!"

He ignores the feeling of being an absolute piece of shit as he goes back to his office, tired enough to nap in his chair. Ryuk has left already, hopefully in the brig where they're supposed to be, but if they were to be cleaning or doing some other form of work instead, he wouldn't be mad at them.

Sans appears in front of his desk just as Papyrus is nodding off with his head on the desk. "What." Papyrus grumbles.

"_gear_, now." Sans says darkly. "damn kid lied to me, but i suspect you put'em up to it."

"Fuck Off, Sans." Papyrus growls, still mad at his older brother.

"now, bro-"

"_Boss_."

"no. now, hand over the gear. you don't need it, it's just a sentimental keepsake. it's holding ya back."

"Funny." Papyrus says. "I Needed It Down In Skoria, But Thanks To You, I Didn't Have It. Yes, I Ordered Ryuk To Get It For Me, So Don't _Hurt_ Them At All For It."

"heh, still mad about my, uh, interpretation?"

"You Should Have Listened To The _Spirit_ Of My Order, Not The Exact Letter."

"sure, bro." Sans says unrepentantly.

Papyrus winces. "I'm Being Serious, Stop Calling Me That."

"why, bro?? you gonna snap at me again if i do, bro?"

Anger blazes in the younger's chest as he scowls and rises up to yell, "FOR THE _LAST_ GODDAMNED TIME, SANS, I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THE WORD _BRO_ IN REFERENCE TO MYSELF _ONE MORE FUCKING TIME_!! HAVE I MADE MYSELF _QUITE FUCKING_ _CLEAR_??"

"crystal as shit, bro." Sans retorts. "oh, and the kid's in the ants' nest listenin'. thought you might wanna know that." Then Sans disappears as Papyrus splutters, unable to formulate a proper response.

"UGH!!" Papyrus settles on collapsing back into his chair. After he's counted to ten a few times and calmed down a bit, he snaps, "Ryuk. Get Out Of There."

Ryuk crawls out of the grate and closes it behind themself, shame-faced. "I didn't want to eavesdrop." They mumble, tablet gripped tight in their scar-pocked hands. Rage stirs in Papyrus's ribs at the sight; Sans didn't just ignore Papyrus's claim, he was downright cruel-- even _sadistic--_ in punishing Ryuk.

"Why Were You In There??" Papyrus demands, trying to be softer than his usual tone.

"It's- it's safe."

"Whatever. Fuck Off." He dismisses them with a wave.

"What would you prefer?" They blurt before they leave. He scowls at them. "Instead of bro."

Papyrus's scowl drops in befuddlement, yet he's also weirdly pleased by the question. "Something Gender-Neutral." He feels like he's almost lying, but he doesn't want to look for the truth.

"Oh, okay." They say. He starts to relax into his chair again. "Like bitch?" Before he can reprimand them, they slip out the door and flee.

Papyrus sighs, unable to be mad at them since he's too busy sparkling over the insult like it was never an offensive term in the first place, all because it's not masculine. But he can't let them get away with being insolent to him, so he messages Undyne and tells her to drag them into fighting practice. She responds with several delighted laughing faces.

* * *

The planet that the Vaux allow the Gil-Mista fleet to land on is absolutely gorgeous, has plenty of resources, and as an added bonus, it's completely one-hundred percent real. Undyne orders everyone to find and take whatever they can. Papyrus argues that they should only take what they need, but Undyne thinks the planet might make a good settling point. It's cute that Paps is still dead-set on returning to the Milky Way, though.

"So cute, fuhuhu!!" Undyne cackles at him when he tries to argue with her again. "I'm the admiral, punk, so my word is law!!"

"Not For Long." He snarls. "I Challenge You." His scarf flutters in non-existent wind as he spins and stomps away to the gym.

Undyne huffs and catches up to him. "Finally!!" She cries. "I thought you'd never ask!!"

"Nyeh Heh Heh, Be Prepared!! I Will Take You Down This Time!!" Papyrus crows.

Undyne scowls at the wimp trotting behind him, their attention locked on the tablet in their hands. They glance at her and wince at her glare. Papyrus didn't tell her what they're in trouble for, but she dislikes them on principle. "Hey, wimp." She says, rapping the top of their head with a fist. "Don't think this means you're getting out of training today, fuhuhu!!"

"Yes, sir." They respond without complaint. "Hey, where's-"

Papyrus drops back between them and Undyne, and clamps a hand on their shoulder. "You Will Be Observing Our Techniques. I Expect A Report On It Of At Least Fifteen Thousand Words By Tomorrow." He says.

"_Fuck_." They mutter, then wince sheepishly. "I mean- yes, sir."

Undyne frowns. "Papyrus, don't fucking patronize me." She spits. "You wanted to know where Alphys is, right, wimp??"

They glance at Papyrus before nodding. "Yeah, is she busy?"

"She's dead." Undyne says and moves on to the next topic brightly, ignoring the wimp's stunned little '_oh_'. And hey, if they were Alphys's friend, they can't be too bad. "So, Papyrus, you gonna use your wimpy talwar or are we doing this properly, soul-versus-soul??"

"We Might As Well." Papyrus says.

In the empty gym, Undyne sets up a boundary ring. She taps her cheek, then turns to the wimp with a grin. "Hey, stay back unless you wanna be dead!!"

"Got it." They scale the rock wall and sit up on the rafters.

Undyne turns back to Papyrus, who's already showing off with little burst patterns. "Hey, don't use up your energy! You're gonna need all of it!! And even then, you still won't beat me!"

Papyrus grins viciously back. "Oh, You're Going To Eat Those Words."

"You're gonna eat DUST, punk!!" Undyne cries back and hops from foot to foot, preparing her magic. She can't use too much, or the baby-- _Ross, Alphys wanted to name him Ross_\-- will be hurt, but she doesn't need all her power to take down this young upstart. Nevermind that Papyrus is only slightly younger than her, by like seven years.

The battle begins, Undyne's senses slipping easily into alert perception. Her spears fly according to her soul's will and she gestures wildly as she sends the waves of spears at him. He responds with intricate patterns that weave through her spears to attempt to threaten her. She laughs at his weak ATK and at the way he's practically dancing to avoid her spears.

The battle exhilarates Undyne in a way that simple sparring fails to do. The thump-thump of her soul forms an addictive piano melody. She cackles when she manages to hit him. She has far stronger ATK than he does, and more HP as well, but he has better DEF and more healing items. And he also has a tendency to hide his stats or lie about them, so she can't be sure his ATK is _actually_ so much lower than hers.

A jagged cyan bone hits her leg as she's trying to avoid a different attack. Undyne laughs as the iron weight of his blue attack grips her. "YOU'RE BLUE NOW!!" Papyrus crows.

She swipes her spear at him, turning him green. The thin blue shield that comes along with being green shimmers in front of his chest. "Fuhu, nice try, punk! No more dancing!!"

Neither waits around for the other to take a turn. They both make their moves, acting and responding instantaneously. Undyne hops over and ducks under the jagged attacks Papyrus sends out, and he spins to block the spears coming for him.

Undyne gets hit and _wow_, he was lying about his ATK. It's almost, but not quite, at her level. She manages to hit him and he staggers. The fight continues, each losing HP in spurts as they trip or get caught off guard. Undyne sees her chance, finally, and takes it, surrounding him with spears as he starts to run low on mana. She's winded too, but he's in worse shape when he finally surrenders.

"Good fight, punk." Undyne slaps his back and he chokes on air, staggering to the wall. "Come on, eat something."

He takes a quiche slice from his inventory and bolts it. Undyne narrows her eye at him. Fucker was holding out on her. He could have gone at least another thirty minutes if he'd used his healing items. "Punk." She growls and yanks him into a headlock. "_PUNK_!! We're having a rematch and you're fighting with _EVERYTHING_ you've got, _HEAR ME_??"

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WASN'T??" Papyrus retorts, struggling in vain.

"You're tougher than this!!" She scolds. "Time was, you'd get at least close to beating me!! So what's your answer?? You gettin' weak or you holdin' out on me??"

"I Haven't Exactly Had Time To Practice Over The Years."

"This bitch." Undyne shakes him fondly, much like a cat shakes a mouse. "Alright, come on!! We're putting you through your paces!! No going down to the planet till you can knock me onto my ass!!"

Papyrus grumbles but doesn't protest. Undyne looks up at the wimp hanging upside-down from a girder. "Get down here so I can whip your ass again!!" She shouts. They climb back down and hop lightly off the rock wall, landing in a smooth tumble. They're actually pretty agile for being so terrible at fighting.

She turns back to Papyrus and tosses a spear to the wimp without looking at them. She hears their yelp and the clatter of the spear as it hits the floor. "Catch it, don't drop it!!" She shouts at them.

"Yessir!" They reply.

"Now, join me in fighting Papyrus!! You're my handicap!!" Undyne crows and grabs her sword from her inventory. The familiar weight stings at her eyes. Alphys made this for her.

Papyrus doesn't end up knocking her on her ass, so she laughs and decides to leave him in charge of everyone up here while she goes on shore leave with that bratass Bracken as company. She notices the look of relief on his face, though, and decides to force him down to the planet another day.


	13. When Your World Seems To Crumble Again

Sans strolls with Asgore through the wide coral forest as the blue sun rises. The huge broad-scaled plants wave despite the lack of wind, their huge leaves clenching and curling like tendril-arms to catch hundreds of the blue beetles flying in masses overhead. The beetles are actually quite tasty, but they have a wicked bite. Heh, if Sans wasn't shunning the kid, he'd have them help him use the beetles for a couple meaner pranks. As it is, he might catch a few and put them in Dexi's tent.

Asgore lets out a heavy sigh. "Sans." He rumbles.

"yeah, fuzzball?" Sans pats the old king's fluffy arm.

"Do you think I'm a bad person?"

"fuzzball, buddy, you're asking the wrong person." Sans says. "if you want an honest answer, i can list all yer sins till the sun goes down, but i get the feeling that's not what you want to hear."

Asgore shakes his head ponderously. "No, I suppose not. It's just that- I have the feeling nobody likes me very much."

"didja want them to?"

"I suppose it would be nice." Asgore says wistfully.

"so, i guess my advice would be to be funny. people love funny. just fake the niceness and tact, and then be as humorous as possible without looking like you're trying too hard."

"I see. That's how you do it."

"guilty as charged, my man. but, uh, it helps nobody knows my past."

"True. Everyone knows I used to rule."

"so make'em look past that." Sans says sagely, hiding a chuckle. This is going to be amusing to watch. "there, see, mk's over there. why don't you go talk to him. crack a few jokes. tell him to not be handsy with luon." Of all ideas, Asgore talking to MK is probably the worst one, and thus exactly why Sans points to him.

Asgore shrugs. "What's the harm in it, I suppose." And he walks over. Sans hangs back, watching with his ever-present grin widening.

"Howdy." Asgore says to MK.

The young raptor bares his teeth and snarls, "_Yo_."

"Don't, er, golly, I don't think you should get too _handsy_ with Luon." Asgore tries and Sans muffles a laugh in his arm.

MK doesn't respond. Sans's grin drops slightly as he realizes he might have made a mistake. The raptor kid's just standing there, growling like he wants to attack but something's stopping him. Luon approaches, though, drawn away from his chat with one of the Rrkhir who are native to the planet, and taps a hand on MK's shoulder, whispering something.

MK laughs a short harsh bark. "Yo, _fuck_ _off_." He tells the king with a voice thick with bitter hatred. He spots Sans, then, and glares before returning his scowl to the ex-king. "Go cozy up to someone else. Maybe try someone you haven't _dismembered_." Then he stomps off with Luon slithering beside him.

Asgore returns with a dour expression. Sans tuts and shakes his head. "okay, that was bad-"

"Please, Sans. Don't talk to me just yet." Asgore sighs heavily. "I suppose I have my answer.

"i mean, there has to be someone you haven't hurt. you didn't try to kill anyone while you were down in skoria, did ya?"

"I believe I fought a few people." Asgore scratches his head sheepishly. "But you have to understand, Sans, the voice told us there wasn't another choice for leaving."

"fuzzball, are you telling me that if my mistress lady luck had switched my bro into your group, you'd be the one bein' shunned right now??"

"I think two of them died, actually." Asgore continues solemnly as though he didn't hear Sans. "But they were beamed away before I could get their EXP, so it was worthless after all."

"are you hearing yourself??" Sans holds up a hand. "fuzzball, am i surrounded by idiots? first frisk, then the kid, then _toriel_ of all people, which actually ain't a surprise now that i consider it, but anyway, now you're tellin' me _you_ murdered down there too?"

Asgore nods. "It couldn't be helped." He says, but he's lying.

Sans feels a cold chill drip down his spine. "fuzzball, do you even care that you fucked up the underground?"

"I did what I had to do." Asgore says firmly. "To make everyone strong."

"don't ya think that mighta been a mistake?"

"Stop, Sans." Asgore growls. "I did what had to be done. Maybe I was too hard on a few people, but I don't regret my actions."

Sans stops short. "_too hard_ on them. heh, that's an understatement."

"I thought we agreed to not talk of any of that." Asgore says with a plaintive tone.

"you _cut off _a _kid's_ _arms_ because his _parents_ were leading a rebellion."

"So? My leadership is all that got us through those dark times."

"asgore, pal, you were the one who _made _them dark. and my bro- my bro suffered cause of that." Before the time leap, Papyrus had been such a bright young kid. Then,forced into a world of violence and dust, he was forced to grow up too fast. Heh. And here, Asgore doesn't even regret any of that.

"Will you stop harping on about your stupid brother??" Asgore rages, fire lighting in his paws. "I don't care about him, Sans, I'm not dating _him_!"

"welp, you're not dating me, either." Sans says. "so. get lost, i guess." He shortcuts away to a different section of the camp, breathing in and absorbing the atmospheric magic to calm down the anger in his soul. This isn't a good time to break up with Asgore, since Papyrus and him are still fighting. But he takes a runabout up to the _Liltha_ anyway and goes to his bro's office. The kid's there, and nearly jumps to the ceiling when he shortcuts in, but he ignores them as they flee out of the room at a gesture from Papyrus.

"bro." Sans says. Papyrus winces and growls. "come on, Paps, what's wrong with it?"

"I-" Papyrus stammers, looking conflicted. "What About- I Don't Know, Changing It Up? Calling Me Boss At Least Half The Time?"

"you really wanna be called boss that badly?"

"N-Not Particularly! I Just- It Hurts." Papyrus admits. "It Hurts And It Makes Me Feel Like Shit And I Don't Know Why."

"okay." Sans sighs. "i need a hug, cause i just broke up with asgore over you, so can i call you chum or frood or something?"

"Either Works, Or You Could Just Say _Paps_." Papyrus says with a tinge of embarrassment coloring his skull, then gets up and comes around the desk. "But Fine, I'll Give You One Hug."

Sans collapses in Papyrus's arms, holding onto his younger sibling tightly. "i have to call _someone_ bro." He grumbles. "maybe dexi, since it seems to hurt people instead of making them feel camaraderie like it should be."

"Thank You, Sans." Papyrus says.

"oh, all the things i sacrifice for your nerves, Paps. you better be grateful." Sans teases.

"I Am Very Grateful To My Wonderful Older Brother, Though He's Not As Wonderful As Myself, Nyeh Heh." Papyrus cackles.

"you're such a frood. papaya the frood." Sans chuckles. Papyrus stiffens in mock rage.

"I AM NOT A FRUIT!!" He cries and shakes Sans, trying in vain to dislodge the elder from the tight embrace. "Although I suppose the pun could have been worse."

"see, papaya, now it's growin' on you."

Papyrus lets out a groan of pained annoyance, but plops onto the chair and lets Sans cuddle him. "I Can't Complain."

"damn right you can't, papaya, or you'd be askin' for a pelvic dusting." Sans lightly raps Papyrus's temple with his knuckles. "none of this nonsense tellin' me i can't be familiar with ya."

"_ANYWAY_!!"

"nope, not anyway." Sans says, shifting his weight so it's harder for Papyrus to move. "bro, i broke up with asgore cause i realized he ain't ever felt regret for what he did underground. and i don't wanna be like that, so i'm apologizing to ya. i'm sorry you had ta grow up so fast."

"Honestly, Sans. That Wasn't Your Fault. But You _Will_ Apolo-"

"also, i'm sorry for all the updog." Sans interrupts before Papyrus can tell him to apologize for hurting the traitorous coward.

"What's up- Oh. No. I refuse to be dragged into your insidious pranks!!" Papyrus cries.

"too late, bro." Sans says. "you're a prank on the world that mom played when she had ya."

"I'm- I'm not sure if that's an insult or not." Papyrus says.

"nah, it's a compliment. the world can't handle the sheer greatness of ya."

"Nyeh heh heh, that's true enough! I am pretty great!"

"and so humble, too."

"Truer words have never been spoken." Papyrus cackles.

After a few more minutes, Papyrus tries to get up. Sans doesn't let him. "Sans, I need to work." Papyrus complains.

"nope. nap now, work later."

"SAAAANSS!!" Papyrus shrieks in annoyance. Sans snuggles into his younger sibling's scarf, which still smells faintly of tomatoes, basil, and parmesan. It's nice to have him back. 

* * *

The planet is lovely, the beetles are humming and M'rer is crunching several in their mouth, so it's a good day to just relax. Kal'bun holds their hand. She sits down in the circle around the fire. Nobody stops her, although there is still the odd glare or two from a few who still haven't let go of the past conflict. But everyone is laughing and drinking and having a good time as they celebrate the escape and defeat of Skoria.

"Okay, get this!" The starmas have been sharing stories of their experiences in Skoria. Kal'bun leans forward and M'rer's ears flick in interest. "You know the stowaway on the _Liltha_? Well, they were in my group. And I thought, y'know, this guy's pretty okay, right?"

A few others in the circle laugh as though they've heard the story already. The garthaglaw woman speaking clicks her mandibles, for all the world looking like a giant version of the beetles roaming this planet in droves. "They played poker with us, they kept the Admiral- sorry, the _Commodore_, may he rest in pieces, from throwing any hissy fits, and they had these magic cards, see? These cards told'em the directions to where they wanted to go, right? But this bastard, this fucking _traitor_, leads us right to a soldier ant nest with no exits cause a fucking voice in their head told them too!" The other starmas boo and hiss at that.

"And then what??" Someone calls over the riled-up din. 

She shrugs. "We _died_. No, dumbass, we all got teleported, all except the traitor and the Commodore. Duh."

"Who would do a fool thing like that??" Kal'bun laughs.

"_Ryuk_ would, apparently." The garthaglaw retorts. M'rer snarls.

"Wait-" Someone chokes on their food and has to be patted on the back by their neighbors until they can talk again. "_They're_ the traitor?? They're being trained as an officer now!"

Uproar follows as several people start shouting over each other. Kal'bun stands up and bellows over the din. "DON'T YOU SEE WHAT'S GOING ON??"

The louder ones gradually calm down, then all eyes are on Kal'bun. She smirks. "Isn't it obvious? They were alone with the Commodore all that time after y'all were teleported. They're sucking his dick."

The anger threatens to overflow again. "But!" Kal'bun says, patting the air to calm them down. "We on the _Liltha_ can give'em hell! So, no fear, comrades. Dick-sucking won't save them from karma!"

Furious whoops follow, and then Kal'bun deftly turns the conversation to other matters, like the food situation. Apparently nobody on the _Liltha_ wants to cook for everyone, so they discuss trading over a cook from another ship.

Later on, N'kha, an engineer who made friends with M'rer before the Skoria incident, comes up from another group and sits down beside the two partners. "Glad to see you two surrvived." The tiger-like miriel says with a lazy purr. "I was worrried when they said the transferrs weren't in any systems. Have you both gone to sickbay yet?"

"Yep." M'rer says absent-mindedly as they play with N'kha's waving tail.

Kal'bun snorts, amused. "Where were you in Skoria?"

"Pah, I don't want to talk about Skorria." N'kha lounges on the log, flicking his tail as M'rer bats at it. "What about home?"

M'rer sobers and tucks their head into Kal'bun's jacket. Kal'bun shakes her head sadly. "We have family back there. I doubt we'll ever see them again, though."

"I'm sorry." N'kha says, patting Kal'bun's arm. "I'm an orrphan, but I had a loverr in anotherr fleet."

"What're they like?"

"He's- ahh, he was frrreaking amazing. Me and my metamourr loved him to pieces, but I got the news he died just beforre we entered the conflict with that bitch Frrisk. He was Alliance, actually. I had to keep him a secrret."

Kal'bun pats his back in return. "That's rough."

N'kha glances about at the scattered groups of conversation around the bonfire. "Don't tell anybody else this, but there might be a way home if our _wise_ _leaderrs_ would purrsue it."

"What's that?" M'rer perks up, fluffy grey tail lashing.

"I heard from a little spiderr that the worrmhole we were caught in was arrtificial. And if there's someone who can make a worrmhole here, then-"

"There's a way back!!" Kal'bun cries quietly. "That would be amazing!! I hope you're right."

"I do too." N'kha says. "I think we all need a bit of hope."

* * *

You groan as you roll out of your nest of soft blankets. You're technically supposed to sleep in the brig, but you found a loophole by studying in your broom closet until you fell asleep. The tablet blinks at you with a new message. Opening it up, you tap the icon and it expands into a long detailed scolding from Papyrus, who apparently found out you never went back to the brig last night. Oops. He's disciplining you with extra training, too. Great.

So far, you've managed to avoid running into anybody who either was in your group down in Skoria or who learned about it through the fleet grapevine. News travels fast in such a small community, but your method is simple, you've been using the ants' nest to move around the ship. But you have to venture out eventually, so you exit your broom closet and try to slip unnoticed into traffic.

Bad idea. This was such a bad idea and you immediately regret it, as you're shoved and jostled and scowled at as you make your way to the bridge. Nobody actively confronts you yet, they're just being passive-aggressive about it right now, but you know it'll only get worse as time goes on, especially after everyone hears you're being made an officer.

"Hey!" A thick chitinous arm slams into you. You flinch and look down as your back hits the wall. "Hey, you look at me when I'm talking, yeah??"

"Please let go." You mumble.

The starma laughs sharply. "Why? You gonna tell the Commodore on me??"

"N-no?"

"That's right. You may have _him_ in your pocket, but _we won't forget_." 

"He's not-" You stammer, glaring up at the garthaglaw pinning you.

"Oh, we all know you're sucking his dick, or whatever that bonehead packs." She snaps her mandibles at you, digging her claws into your throat. "So here's some friendly advice. You can keep fucking him, whatever, just don't try to lord it over us_. And if you make even one tiny mistake as an officer, I'll chew your heart out._" She hisses the last sentence in her own tongue, making you wish mom never forced you to know every single language in the Milky Way.

"G-gotcha." You say weakly. "Sorry."

She growls and slams you back into the wall again before storming off. You rub your neck and move on, feeling the vindictive stares of nearly every starma in the hallway burn into your soul. Those that don't glare instead ignore you completely.

When you finally make it to Papyrus's office, after sneaking behind Esther as she spoke with Luon on the bridge, you collapse into your favorite chair, trembling and close to tears. Papyrus glances at you but doesn't comment as you hide your face in your hands, the rough ropy scars another grim reminder of your guilt. If only you could hide and metamorphose into a brave and powerful dragon. If mom had made you a dragon instead of a weak adani, you would have been able to fight against Skoria.

"What lesson are you on?" Papyrus asks and you realize with a start that it's been two weeks since you began.

"Uh." You check and realize with a cold sinking that you only have five more to go. "One-hundred-thirty-nine."

"Good. Finish up today and it will be finalized tomorrow." He says.

"Yes, sir." You hiccup. "Is- is Undyne coming for training today?"

"She is." He replies, focusing on his own work. Fighting practice hurts and leaves you sore and bruised every day, but the tiring physical exertion is better than facing the judgement and blame of your once-friends. You like Undyne, too, despite her eagerness to whip you into a pulp. And you're sad Alphys died, because she was your friend.

"I made a mural for her." You mumble.

Papyrus glances up at you. "Is that why you haven't been reporting to the brig for five nights in a row??"

"Mostly. Also I was studying in my quarters and fell asleep." You try in vain to defend yourself.

"Your _quarters_ is a goddamn broom closet." He says snootily. "That won't do for an officer, so you'll be reassigned. We're all full, though, since I've completed transfers between ships, so you'll have to share a room with someone."

You grimace at the floor. "Please, can I keep my-?"

"No." He replies.

Later during practice, you sidle up to Undyne and beg her to make Papyrus let you keep your closet. Undyne narrows her eye at you before laughing and smacking your shoulder hard enough to bruise. "Fuhuhu, Papyrus, you hear what the wimp just asked??" She cries and then tells him. You wince at his stern glower.

"Ryuk, This Is Unacceptable Behavior." He scolds. "But Fine, I Will Give You A Chance To Keep Your Desired Room. Land A Single Hit Before I Do."

You gulp and raise your rattan practice sword, already knowing you're going to lose. He grins and comes at you. His sword moves almost too fast to track, and then it's over within a second as you yelp in pain when the rattan smacks your side. You didn't even get close. "Ow." You grumble.

"_Again_," He snaps, "You didn't even move your sword, you just _let me hit you_. At least attempt to wave it around so I know you're _trying_."

After several more failed attempts, you finally cry in frustration, "How's teaching me how to hurt people a good idea??"

Undyne growls, but Papyrus stops her with a hand to her shoulder. "Because You Are Going To Learn Courage And Responsibility If I Have To Beat It Into Your Thick Skull One Bruise At A Time. You _Are_ Clever, Ryuk, So Why Are You Refusing To Learn??" The chastisement stings, but in the next round, you attempt to copy some of his moves, and you manage to deflect his sword once. Granted, he immediately redirects it back around to hit your other side, but still. Small victories like that are all you can hold onto right now.

Then you have to fight against Undyne. She throws spears at you as you flee about the gym. She has pretty bad aim, though, so it's easy to avoid her until she gets you into a corner. A spear stabs up from the ground, slicing across your cheek as you press against the wall. The gash smarts as hot blood starts to dribble down your face. Undyne looks surprised, so maybe she didn't mean to use a physical attack.

Before you can fully process the stupidity of your sudden reckless idea, your hands wrap around the spear and you break it from the ground, weaving in a serpentine fashion towards Undyne. She doesn't attack you yet, though. It's not until you reach her that she snaps out of whatever daze she's in and laughs wildly, batting the spear easily out of your hands. "Punk, you thought you could pull a fast one on me, huh??"

You duck her swing and roll to grab the spear again, then blindly slash it up at her as she leaps down at you. A sudden _frightening_ weight around you yanks and you're flung away from her before either strike can connect. You cower, dropping the spear. "S-sorry!"

"Are you _kidding_ me??" Undyne cries gleefully. "That was fucking progress and you ruined it, Papyrus!!"

"They Could Have Hit You." He retorts. "That was stupid of you to give them an attack they could use against you!! Especially when they can't control their intent yet!!"

Undyne laughs sheepishly. "I didn't _mean_ to." She says. "But hey, I guess the little wimp has fire in'em after all, huh!"

Papyrus glares at her, then looks back to you and gestures for you to come closer. The gash on your cheek calls for your attention again now that the exhilaration of action has passed. That- that was actually sort of- _fun_? When you approach, he takes a bandage from his inventory and presses it to your cheek. "I Suppose That's A Start." He relents. "Alright, Fine, Practice Can End Now. Get Back To The Brig Tonight."

"Yes, sir, thank you." You say, then chase down Undyne before she can leave. "Wait, sir!"

"What, wimp??"

"I- there's something I wanted to show you." You say.

"Yeah? Fuhu, lead on!"

The mural is down in the third ring, where not many people ever go; it was the safest place for you to paint it. "We, uh, have a tradition." You mumble as Undyne stares at it. "Paint the dead on the walls, so their spirits stay with us."

Undyne sniffles. "Get lost, punk." She says in a dull calm voice. You're confused and worried that she hates it, but then you see the tears welling in her eye. She wants privacy, so you salute her and leave.

You end up falling asleep in your broom closet again, just one last time before you're forced to share a room with someone who hates you. Then you wake up to Papyrus slamming open the door. "What Did I Tell You??" He growls, then splutters as his gaze falls on you.

"Bitch, knock!" You retort, stark naked except for fluffy socks running to your knees and elbows, because you hate the sight of your own stupidly scaleless adani body but it was too hot to sleep when wearing anything else.

He blushes and turns around, closing the door again. You get dressed quickly, then open the door to see him still standing here. "Not my fault if you never learned to knock first." You grumble.

"We Are Not Speaking Of This Again." He grumbles back, seeming to have forgotten why he was mad at you in the first place.

In the conference room, you fill out and sign the forms he gives you before you start the last assessment, the final exam. It takes a couple hours, but you finally finish it. He looks it over while you wait nervously.

"Congratulations, Ryuk." He says. "You Got Most Of The Questions Right, And While Your Essay Answers Were- _Unusual_, They Weren't Objectively Wrong. You Passed." You barely catch what he mutters under his breath next, "Honestly, who can fathom why you wrote a two page paper on the merits of researching genmods to turn adani into dragons??"

Giggling, you ask, "What would have happened if I failed?"

"I would have handed you over to Commander Se'Vir and let him deal with you however he saw fit." He replies, and now you're extremely glad you didn't fail on purpose because Se'Vir would just lock you in the brig for all eternity. "Here's your uniform." He hands you a bag with two purple shirts, the color of the operations division. "And your insignia." A single star-shaped pin with a _3_ embroidered on it. "Your rank is now Ensign third-class, and your station is chief of morale. You will report to Lieutenant Esther."

"Yes, sir." You reply, dazed in a nervous kind of way.

"Now, as to the matter of your new quarters, you will be sharing Room One-A." He says. "There are a few ground rules to establish, but we'll go over those after you're settled in."

Frowning, you try to remember whose quarters that number belongs to. "Yes, sir." You say and he dismisses you. You trudge back to your broom closet, weaving through the traffic and dodging the aggression of your fellow star-mates. Then it dawns on you just as you collapse into your nest. "Welp, fuck me with a cactus." You groan.

Room One-A belongs to Papyrus himself.

* * *

Papyrus isn't oblivious to the rumors and gossip that spread about the ship. He knows what the optics of Ryuk's enlistment look like, but he also knows most starmas disliked him anyway before this. He has his officers and Sans, he doesn't need everyone to like him. With a bit of luck and some time, Ryuk may prove themself and be forgiven. But until then, they're in danger of being bullied to the point of breaking or getting injured. So he put them in the safest room he could, his own.

When Ryuk enters, carrying a pile of blankets and various soft fluffy items like pillows and plushies, Papyrus sighs and nearly regrets his decision. They plead with him with wet eyes when he tries to make them take the couch. "I can just hide in the walk-in, you won't even know I'm here!"

Papyrus huffs. "Fine." He relents. "I suppose you're just going to dump everything on the floor."

"Duh, it's my nest." They say matter-of-factly. "Oh- I mean-"

"Keep it to the side." He grunts. They go into the closet and plop their nest down.

"You know, your scowl is kinda growing on me." Ryuk says as they arrange their things. Papyrus touches his jaws, finding he's indeed scowling. "It's adorable, really."

"I Don't Think You Have Any Room To Talk." Papyrus retorts.

Ryuk smirks. "Did- are you calling me cute?"

"Cute Is A Vile Insult In Sedryn Culture, So Yes, I Am." Papyrus goes to the small kitchenette. "I Believe You Have Duties To Attend To."

"Right." They say, grimacing. "Uh, sir, can I skip the counselor part of it, please? I'll do everything else, it's just-"

Papyrus waits for them to continue but they drop their gaze and wring their hands nervously. Irritated, he replies, "No, You're Going To Fix Your Mistakes."

"Nobody will let me!!" They cry, then turn away, clenching their fists. "Sorry." They mumble. "You're right." They go back into the closet, closing the door to change into their uniform.

Papyrus blocks them before they can sneak out the door again. "I'm Giving You A Chance." He says with a firm pat to their head. "Don't Lose Hope."

They nod with watery eyes. "Yes, sir. Thank you."

He steps aside as they head out to clean, then he goes to the bridge after eating breakfast. His officers stand at attention until he salutes them back and barks "At Ease!"

He can tell several of them have questions considering the wisdom of making a traitorous stowaway an officer, but Undyne calls to tell him to start breaking orbit. Her navigators have found another star system with M class planets nearby that she wants to explore. They really should have asked the Vaux for maps and information, but Undyne never allowed Papyrus to do that.

"Yes, Sir." Commodore Papyrus begrudgingly salutes Admiral Undyne. "When We Get There, I'm Kicking Your Ass." 


	14. Crying

Never fear~ never despair~ Mettaton hums to himself. He flinches at a clank of metal, but it's only his fellow prisoner limping over to examine his torn leg. It chirps as its wing-claws and beak start to deftly bend wires and fix electrodes back into place. There's a collar around its neck, nearly hidden by the shiny black almost-feathers.

Mettaton pats its head. The alien is nearly two-thirds his size, and in form somewhat like the archaeopteryx of old sedryn and adani legends, yet with a flexible beak that can curve or pierce at will. The 'feathers' are actually webbed together and expand in space to make a sort of sail. Mettaton was captured by hundreds of these creatures flying through space outside of their starship.

"What are you in here for, darling?" Mettaton hums. The alien had somehow fixed his voice earlier, before he was taken out to be tortured again, and for that, he'll be forever grateful.

"You- here- for-" The alien squawks quietly, repeating the words.

"I'm here for being an aberration, I assume." Mettaton says darkly. "I can only guess what your crime was. Throwing a mud pie at your king? How droll. They should cut off your head for that."

"Off! Off your head!!" It cries and then pecks Mettaton's cheek lightly.

Mettaton stares at it. "Yes, head." He says and taps the alien's beak. "_Head_."

"Head!!" It cries and shakes its own back and forth. Then it squawks a word in its own language and pecks Mettaton's temple.

Mettaton smiles and repeats the word. Thus, slowly yet steadily, the two learn how to communicate with each other.

Three weeks later, Mettaton can hold a flimsy, broken conversation with mixed Ivren and Sedryn words. The roughly-bird-like aliens are called Ivren, and Mettaton's fellow cellmate is an engineer who was locked away for having magic powers. Kis name is Cuina, and ke likes to call Mettaton simply Ton. _Tonton_ if ke's feeling especially affectionate.

Finally, seeming satisfied with Mettaton's language progress, Cuina tells him about kis escape plan. Mettaton pats ker and snaps the collar off kis neck. Cuina then snaps the chains with a single orange word, and the two sneak through the ship to the hangar where Mettaton's runabout is kept.

Cuina hops inside as the alarm sounds. Mettaton looks back and sees the guards coming, loping across the hangar on their wings and legs like they're trying to act like wolves. "Go, darling!!" He cries, slamming the hatch closed before Cuina can protest. The runabout fires up and Mettaton roars at the oncoming army.

The hatch opens again and Cuina yanks Mettaton inside with a flickering purple word. Mettaton rushes to the helm and flies straight out the airlock, ripping through the flimsy doors as they start to close. Cuina squawks excitedly, too fast for Mettaton to make out, but he grins viciously, baring his platinum teeth, and sets the ship to go into warp.

The runabout jerks back, yanked by a grapple. Mettaton curses. "I detach hook, darling, no fear." He says in broken Ivren, pressing a few last commands into the computer.

"Not go!" Cuina snaps back in equally broken Sedryn. "Red death!"

"Red, yes, but so am I, dearest." Mettaton purrs and plants a kiss on Cuina's head before leaping out the hatch and climbing up to the grappling hook. He detaches it just as another fires and spears through his chassis. The hook yanks him back as the runabout obeys Mettaton's final orders to it, warping away towards the last known position of the _Liltha_. "Goodbye, darling. I hope you're safer there." Mettaton sighs and lets himself be pulled back into the ship. He's going to be tortured for this, but he's just glad he managed to save his only friend.

* * *

As the _Liltha _starts to pull away from the planet, a small runabout barrels out of warp, spinning out of control. Commander Suzy sees it and grabs it with a grappling hook, hacking its onboard computer to take control and steady its trajectory. She knows a runabout was taken by that odd android nobody except Admiral Undyne knows anything about, but it's weird that he'd come backafter such a long time. She pulls it into the hangar and goes down with Se'Vir to check.

When she gets down there, the newest officer, Ensign Ryuk, is already comforting a large black almost-bird-like alien. "Ensign," Suzy calls stiffly. The ensign nearly got her friends killed on Skoria, and while Papyrus did recently explain to his officers why he promoted them instead of throwing them into the brig for the rest of their life, Suzy still resents them. "Report."

"Ke's hurt." Ryuk pets the bird's head. "We need to get ker to sickbay."

"You can talk to it??"

They nod. "Ivren are native to the Milky Way." They say. "A bunch of their ships disappeared in the Thorn Brand years ago, though."

"I've never heard of Ivren." Suzy's ears flatten in suspicion.

"The Republic of Teryn doesn't like to admit a lot of things." Ryuk mumbles as they help the alien up, then the corner of their mouth twists up. "Its initials are accurate, though. _Rot_."

Suzy rolls her eyes and lashes her tail in annoyance. "Are you going to get that alien to sickbay, or are you going to be a dick about politics??"

"Are you going to underestimate my powers of multitasking, or are you going to help me?" Ryuk shoots back.

Se'Vir laughs sharply, then shrugs at Suzy's glare. Ryuk drops their eyes, supporting the alien as it limps to the door. They mutter in a warbling language, and the alien warbles back. Suzy huffs and helps them. Se'Vir walks behind to guard.

"Kis name is Cuina. Ke ran away from imprisonment." Ryuk reports after they've handed Cuina over to a nurse. "Ke has a friend called Tonton, but he was left behind, and Cuina wants to go back and save him."

"A noble cause." Se'Vir says. "Anything else you can tell us about Ivren?"

"They, uh, they can fly in space and their societies are usually pretty militaristic." Ryuk says. "The Republic covers up their existence because for a while it was losing badly to them."

Suzy looks back at the odd alien. "How do you know Cuina and Tonton weren't being imprisoned for good reason??"

They shrug. "I don't, but Cuina seems really upset about their friend."

"I want to learn that language." Suzy decides. "It's inconvenient if you and Dexi are the only ones who can communicate with ker."

"I can teach you." Ryuk offers.

"I'd like to learn, too." Se'Vir says. "The more languages I know, the better chance I have of getting promoted to Chief of Communications."

"Dexi's always gonna be that." Suzy laughs, slapping Se'Vir's arm. "She can literally understand another language just by _looking_ at someone. That's just not fair."

"Hm, well, she may not last if she insists on being insubordinate to the Commodore." Se'Vir says with a slight chuckle. "Did you see him the other shift? I was sure he'd blow up at her."

"Did he?" Suzy laughs.

"No, actually." Se'Vir ruffles his feathers. Suzy notices Ryuk trying to sidle away unnoticed. She nearly snaps at them to get back to work, then realizes that's probably where they're going. "Good day, Ensign." Se'Vir calls to them as they slip out the door. They reply with a salute.

"Aren't you mad at them?" Suzy asks, confused. "You were there, weren't you?"

"True," Se'Vir says, then changes the topic, "Well, we should tell Commodore Papyrus about this, shouldn't we."

* * *

Undyne orders the fleet into warp, blasting away from the scene of Alphys's death, away from the murderer who killed her. She sits back in her chair on the bridge of the _Alaco_ and opens her tablet to look through the pictures of her and her wife. The last picture in the slide is a photo she took of Alphys's mural in the _Liltha_. She bares her teeth at the passionate excitement captured by the strokes of her eyes. This is how Undyne wants to remember her wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This marks the end of Arc Two: Skoria.


	15. Don't Be Afraid, Don't Turn Away

The sickbay is relatively peaceful for the first time in months, the only disturbance being Ryuk talking with the Ivren and MK's nurse Ria, which gives MK a chance to relax and check in on Luon's progress with decoding Alphys's notes. N'kha has been helping Luon with the diagrams and pictures, but text-to-speech technology is a major boon when it comes to the written notes. Alphys also has audio recordings of her thoughts and ideas. Luon has compiled them all together.

MK knocks before entering the lab. N'kha waves a paw and flicks his black-striped orange tail. "Hey, MK."

"Yo. Where's Luon?"

"Back therre." N'kha's muzzle twitches in a knowing smirk. "Should I leave?"

"Why? Yo, you're fine." MK says.

"Ah, there you are, Mil-Gwedh!" Luon cries, sounding excited for the first time since MK has met him. "Alphys had _so much_ research in thaumatech! It's beautiful!!"

"Yo, that's great! Anything on glamours?"

"Quite a bit. She started working on the new version, but there's a few bugs in her design. I think I can work the kinks out, though."

"Kinks can be fun, yo." MK jokes before he can think better of it.

"I mean, if you're _into_ violent limb dislocation as a major side effect, be my guest."

"Nah, dismemberment is a hard limit for me, yo." MK retorts. N'kha chokes on his drink. MK perks up. "Yo, is that scotch?? Gimme."

N'kha pours him a glass as Luon slithers up to show him what he's done so far. MK takes the glass with his magic and lifts it to his muzzle to sip from. "So, you know how it's nearly impossible to use magic when wearing a glamour?" Luon says gleefully. "I figured out how to negate that side effect."

"Awesome! When will it be ready, do you know?"

"In a few weeks, I believe. Find a tattoo artist, if you can. This version will be more like an ink you can activate with your soul, and it's harder to destroy."

MK bounces with glee, then plants a friendly kiss on Luon's muzzle. "Thanks, yo, you're awesome!!" N'kha chokes again. "Yo, you okay?"

"'m fine, ignorrre me."

"Would you two like dinner at my place, tonight?" MK offers.

"I'm good," N'kha waves it off. "I have dinnerr with two lovely Alliance crrewmen."

"I would be delighted." Luon says.

MK leaves. He knows a few people who can do tattoos. Ryuk might be his best bet, since they're good at making it as painless and quick as possible, at least for the people they like. He hops into sickbay again to check on the Ivren Cuina one last time before retiring to his quarters for a much-needed break.

Ryuk waves to him. The curunir nurse Ria is changing colors at will while Cuina stares in sleepy fascination. "I thought the colors showed emotions." Ryuk says.

"They do, if the curunir isn't in control of themself." Ria replies haughtily. "But then again, I'm nearly three-hundred-fifty-two, so I've had time to learn."

MK chuckles at his nurse's bragging. "Yo, you're almost on your death bed, Ria."

"Oh, shut up." Ria tosses a scalpel at MK, who catches it in his magic and tosses it back. Ria snatches it from the air and spins it between her fingers before setting it back down.

"Show off." Ryuk laughs.

"For my next act, I'll be cutting out the tongue of an insolent fool." Ria retorts playfully.

"Not my silver tongue! Take my eyes, instead, so I can't see these ugly-ass walls anymore. Geez, ever heard of interior design??"

"The yellow is supposed to calm people down." MK replies, acting irritated, but right now nothing can diminish his cheer.

"Yes, but did you have to paste yellow over every single inch?? Isn't that right, Cuina?" Ryuk then warbles to Cuina, who chirps and bobs kis head up and down, seemingly amused. "Ke says we should paint it purple."

"Cuina is not in charge of painting." MK says.

Ryuk nods with faux sagacity. "True, but I _am_ the new chief of morale. If I say purple flowers in here would raise morale, then I bet I could get away with painting it!!"

"I _was_ going to ask you to be my tattoo artist for my new glamour, yo, but I don't think you deserve such an honor anymore." MK retorts sternly. Ria does an immature '_ooooo~_' and MK struggles to not laugh.

Ryuk huffs. "Fine, I won't paint the walls. _Maybe_."

"You do and I'll never forgive you, yo."

"Fuck it, I'm painting them with rainbow bunnies on fire."

"Paint _me_, yo, cause I will literally dust myself if you do that."

Ria seems like she doesn't want to laugh at the morbid joke, but Ryuk guffaws. "Deal."

"I'm going to have a nice peaceful dinner with Luon." MK says, feeling like he's boasting even though he's only stating a fact. Ria mockingly flickers crimson and MK blushes. "It's not like that, yo."

"Not _yet_." Ryuk says and fist-bumps Ria. Cuina is nodding off to sleep, so MK doesn't feel too bad that ke's left out.

"Yo, fuck off."

"We're supposed to be in here. _You_ fuck off."

"I'll report this to Commodore Papyrus, see if I don't." MK retorts. "I'll tell him you're being rude to your doctor and superior officer!" "Well, apparently I'm sucking his dick, so I doubt he'll be mad for long." Ryuk says lightly with a hint of well-hidden bitterness.

"Does he even _have_ a dick, yo??"

Ryuk shrugs. "Dunno."

"If he did, would you?" MK teases.

Ryuk splutters, caught off-guard and face darkening with a violent blush. "Nnnn- maybe?? I've sucked a lot of dicks, I guess he wouldn't be the _worst_ customer I've ever had." MK smirks. Ryuk scowls at him. "Shut up and fuck off."

"Yo, I didn't say anything!" MK protests, but leaves anyway. He passes Papyrus in the halls and chokes on his laughter as he tries to muffle it. He's still mad at Papyrus, but the mental image of the skeleton and the smartass- it's too funny.

For dinner, he prepares a simple three-course meal of eggs, bacon, and cookies. Luon enters later just as the cookies are cooling. They're a new recipe that Ryuk invented with the ingredients gathered from the planet and from trade with the Vaux.

Luon steals a cookie and chomps it. "Crunchy." He says. "Tastes like those beetles."

"I used them instead of chocolate, since we're out." MK says. "Yo, you like them?"

Luon smirks and slithers up to MK, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I love them. May I?"

"Sure." MK says, not sure what Luon is asking for until his muzzle boops against MK's. The raptor giggles, feeling giddy. "Yo, I like you."

"I believe I like you as well, Mil-Gwedh." Luon says and the giddiness is nearly unbearable.

"Yo, want to stay over?"

"If you'd like that."

"Yo! The eggs!!" MK jerks back and rushes to flip the eggs over. "Whew, that was close."

* * *

Ryuk does a poor job of sneaking Cuina into Papyrus's quarters as he pretends to be asleep. They hiss at the alien in a voice that's not actually quiet as they cajole it into the closet where their nest is, then they take the couch and bounce on it a few times before snuggling into a fluffy blanket.

Papyrus is too tired to be irritated with them, though. Undyne's had the fleet on the lookout for new aliens since yesterday, and it's all he can do to keep her from fighting the first goddamn species she runs into. The sooner he can take control of the fleet, the better it will be for everyone, including Undyne, since throwing everyone's lives into danger by indiscriminately bullying people is not a healthy way to process grief.

It's only when he wakes up to a half-dead Ryuk and a bird alien in his closet that he realizes they were drunk. It's really not hard to figure out, since they're now hiding their head under a pillow and curled up in nauseous pain. "WELL. I HOPE YOU LEARNED YOUR LESSON." He says, cruelly using his more powerful volume to pound said lesson into their skull.

They whimper and press the pillow to their head. He rips it away from them and yanks them off the couch. "S-sir, I'm sorry," Ryuk pleads as he drags them to the shower stall and turns the water on cold.

He turns to them and scowls. "WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU'RE GETTING DRUNK WHILE ON DUTY??"

They shrug with a flicker of defiance. "I wasn't technically-"

Papyrus dunks Ryuk under the freezing jets of water, making them yelp. "I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE ONE OR TWO DRINKS OFF-DUTY, BUT GETTING DRUNK IS UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR FOR AN OFFICER." He chastises.

"Y-y-yes, s-sir!" They manage to salute despite violently shivering from the cold.

Papyrus lets them out and turns it off, then wraps a towel around them. "No More, Understand??"

They nod quickly. "Sorry, sir, it won't happen again." But they mutter under their breath, "unless I want you to get me wet."

"NYEEEEHHH!! It Had Better Not Happen Again _At All_ Unless You Want Me To Put You In The _Brig_!!" Papyrus cries hotly, crossing his arms and stomping one foot repeatedly.

"Gotcha." They giggle with a nervous glance to the closet.

"And I Know You Brought Cuina In Here!" Papyrus stomps his foot one last time.

"Ke didn't have anywhere to sleep." They defend weakly.

"You Could Have _Asked_ Me Instead Of Waking Me Up At Rifli-Knows-When With Your Bumbling Attempts At Stealth." Papyrus retorts. "Now get dressed for your shift, I need to go make sure Undyne doesn't kill anybody. And remember you're training with Bracken and Se'Vir today."

After eating a small meal of the last oatmeal in the ship, Papyrus heads to the bridge. He briefly considers trading with some of the other ships for more oatmeal, but it's fine, he can do without his favorite comfort food. His officers stand at attention until he barks "At Ease." The familiarity of the ritual calms him.

The star system looms in the distance, getting closer every minute. Papyrus doesn't want to admit to dreading the inevitable battles with whatever sentient life is there, but it feels like he's gone from the frying pan to the fire, since he was forced to fight the Chancellors' battles to exhaustion back in the Milky Way, and now he's under the command of a mad woman who will gladly force him and his crew to fight until all are dead. Undyne is not in her right mind.

Thankfully, when they reach the star system, the single M class planet there has no space-worthy aliens nearby, although there are a few different species of large toad-like creatures who seem to be the most intelligent the planet has to offer at this point in time. Papyrus has to yell at Undyne before she grumpily agrees to not kill them.

Hours later, around the same time Ryuk should be training, as teams are gathering fuel and resources from the planet, a single ship appears on the scans, right in the middle of the scanner like it just became visible to the sensors. If it's using cloaking tech, Papyrus would be delighted to trade for the permission to have his scientists study it and adapt it to the Gil-Mista ships. Undyne would never give permission for that, though, so before she can notice the ship and try to fight it, Papyrus has Dexi attempt to open a channel with it.

The aliens that appear on the screen look like Cuina, so they must be the Ivren. Dexi communicates with them and reports to Papyrus that they want their prisoner back. "Ask What The Crime Is."

"According to them, ke murdered an entire colony." Dexi says. "But ke's been nothing but docile the whole time here."

Papyrus huffs. Cuina isn't one of his own, so he has no reason to be protective of ker. But he knows the starmas and some officers have been growing fond of the bird and would be upset if ke was given up to death or worse.

He's saved from a hard choice, however, when Se'Vir calls up to the bridge. "Sir," The uiloth pants into the transceiver. "Cuina captured a few hostages using some form of magic and took a runabout!"

Papyrus grinds his teeth. "What?? Who'd Ke Take??"

"Wendi and Ensign Ryuk."

"Cuina Doesn't Know Half The Trouble Ke's Asking For With That Choice." Papyrus grumbles, glaring at the runabout as it flies out of the hangar. "Alright, Grapple Them."

The runabout disappears.

Undyne calls him as the Ivren are demanding an immediate answer. "STALL THEM!!" Papyrus snaps in response to repeated questions of what to do. He answers Undyne, collapsing onto his chair. "Yes??"

"Code Orange!!" She practically shouts through the link. "Attack!! All ships attack!!"

"_Fuck_." Papyrus growls.

* * *

As you're getting beaten up by Bracken, you keep an eye on Cuina. Ke's restless for some reason, pacing on the girders overhead. The garthaglaw lady is here as well, jeering at you from the sidelines. 

Cuina dives down with a squawk and grabs you by the wrist, throwing Bracken and Se'Vir away with a chirped unintelligible word. Ke drags you to the hangar despite your futile struggling and protests. You're jealous of kis strength; if only- but no, you'll never be a dragon. Mom was right.

"Wait," You cry upon reaching the runabout Cuina wants, "Where are you going??"

"Save Tonton!" Cuina squawks.

"Uh- dunno if you heard, heh, but I'm literally the last person you want helping you." You try in vain to pry Cuina's claw off your wrist, wishing you had claws too, instead of squishy stupid fingers.

Ke pecks your side sharply, making you yelp. "Help me." Ke orders like ke's used to being obeyed.

"Sorry, nope, why don't you as-_eep_-" You yelp as purple wires bind around you from Cuina spitting a certain word you couldn't understand. "Okay, okay, fine, geez, you could ask nicely!"

"I tried to." Cuina retorts with an angry warble. "You don't listen. You talk too much." Ke binds you to the helm. "Drive."

"I know a better pilot!" You plead. "I'm awful, you don't-" Ke glares at you and clicks kis beak warningly. "Dick." You grumble defiantly. "Fine, I'll take you to your precious Tonton, but then I'm getting the hell out of there-" You stop short and trail off, realizing abandoning people has been your modus operandi for literally every dangerous situation so far, and is also the reason you're now hated by everyone. "_Damn_ it, I guess we're doing this." Might as well gain a birb ally. Cuina has magic, too, so it's not like you're going to be in too much danger of dying.

Cuina warbles excitedly and pecks your ear. "Go, go!!"

"Here goes nothing." You mutter. The runabout powers on at your command. You press your hands to the controls and hope it listens.

"Hey." Someone snaps.

"Cuina, you forgot to close the hatch!!" You yelp, but Cuina is delightedly ruffling kis webbed feathers.

"What the hell are you doing, traitor??" The intruder continues. "Running away again??"

"Not really, no!" The runabout rises off the hangar deck. You remembered to deactivate the mooring locks this time. "Close the hatch!"

"Set this craft down and get out." Whoever it is sounds furious and gleeful at the same time. "I'm reporting you for cowardice."

"No!!" Cuina squawks. "You both help save Tonton!!"

"Cuina's dragging me on a quest to save their friend." You explain without looking back. "Now please for the love of Rifli_, close the goddamn hatch_!!"

"Fine, but you make one wrong move, I-"

"Chew my heart out, yeah, yeah, been there, done that." You snap back, recognizing the voice finally as belonging to the garthaglaw lady. "Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Papyrus tastes like mangoes."

That effectively stuns both of your comrades into silence, albeit for different reasons since Cuina doesn't understand the context. You hear the sound of the hatch closing, so you're safe to open the airlock doors and fly out of the _Liltha_.

There's a huge unfamiliar ship a few kilometers away from the _Liltha_. "There!" Cuina cries. "Go!" There's wires running all around the inside of the runabout, and you're pretty sure they're not supposed to be there. Make that _definitely_ sure when Cuina flips a new lever and the bow of the runabout disappears from view.

"I really want to ask how you did that with nobody noticing, but whatever, cloaking is cool." You grumble. The Ivren ship is surrounded by the birds darting about in space. "Uh. Got a plan??"

"Get in, save Tonton, get out!!" Cuina replies.

You huff. "Three steps, not too shabby."

"That's an idiotic plan, we're going to get killed." The garthaglaw snaps.

"Well, why'd you come, then??"

"Because _someone_ has to make sure you don't abandon your post." She snarls.

"_Great_ job." You cheer. "Really, gold star for you."

"Stop it!!" Cuina warbles angrily. You obediently shut up. "Focus. Sneak past Ivren as they destroy your ships."

"Wait, what." You stammer.

"What??" The garthaglaw cries.

"Focus!!" Cuina smacks you over the head with a heavy wing. "Save Tonton!!"

"Are you sure that's really the first priority we should be having??" You retort, then flinch as Cuina lets out a dangerous purring sound. "Okay, fine."

"_Coward_." Mad-beetle-lady spits. But then she yelps as Cuina probably bats her over the head as well. "We should fight them." 

"Ivren are undefeated." You say, fear dumping over you.

"How come I never heard of them??"

"Because!! They always keep to themselves unless provoked!! The Republic finally learned that lesson the hard way, and then covered up the fact they ever existed!!"

The Ivren are scattered about through space. Your runabout gets closer to the ship. Fear pounds through your skin, your scarred hands burning with sweat as you grip the controls. Everyone is going to die. And here you are, abandoning them again for a stupidly suicidal mission.

You dock the runabout roughly in the hangar of the Ivren ship when Cuina shows you where it is. Cuina gets out and drags you with ker. "Stay here." You tell the garthaglaw.

"Like I'd let you hide away with these motherfucking birds. You come back or I'll hunt you down and kill you myself." She snaps back.

You follow Cuina through the eerily empty ship to a dark damp brig. A rusted and torn-apart android lays flickering on the floor. Cuina rushes to them and starts picking up the pieces. You help in silence, grabbing an empty crate to put the android in. "Any tunnels?" You ask.

Cuina stares at you for a moment, then squawks, "Tunnels??"

You look around. The electronics and other sundry stuff are all out in the open. Taking a pair of sharp pliers from the bench, you cut through a few wires quickly.

Your hand brushes a cube as you set the pliers down again, and data arcs into you like an electric shock. It's a computer, or a storage unit, or something techy like that. Luon will love it, therefore MK will love it too and possibly forgive you if you end up in the sickbay for this stunt. Grab it and stuff it into your jacket, then you run after Cuina, who's already starting back to the hangar.

"Cool ship." You say to ker as you help with the crate.

"Dirty." Cuina squawks scornfully. "Rotten."

When you reach the runabout without incident, the garthaglaw scoffs. "That's what we came to save?? A fucking broken android??"

"Androids can be people." You snap back, stung. Cuina purrs menacingly at the beetle-lady.

"This one looks dead." Beetle-lady kicks the crate and Cuina clicks kis beak angrily.

"You're going to _be_ dead if you keep insulting Tonton like that." You warn her.

"That a threat??" She snarls, snapping her claw around your throat and slamming you against the wall. "Are you threatening me??"

"N-no, Cuina is- if you'd j-just pay _attention_!"

The garthaglaw drops you, howling as Cuina attacks her with fearsome wings and claws and a sharp beak. You snatch Cuina's neck and yank ker off the cowering beetle-lady. "We need to get outta here!!"

"Fly!!" Cuina squawks, aiming one last wing-smack at beetle-lady.You sit in the helm and blast through the airlock. Cuina does the cloaking thing again.

The Ivren are scattered through space throughout the Gil-Mista fleet, diving and blasting the ships with their weapons. Nauseous fear rises in your throat. There's a good reason Ivren are undefeated in space battles. They're too small to hit accurately, and their ship is a distraction, drawing their enemy's fire. Add that to formidable weaponry and skillful tactics. And they never spare anyone who keeps fighting. The only way to escape is to avoid confrontation or retreat or, in a pinch, surrender, but then they want tribute.

It's a relief that you got out of the ship, though, and maybe you can convince Papyrus to get everyone to retreat so nobody dies- one of the Gil-Mista ships explodes in a boom of white fire that sizzles out just as quickly as it appeared. The ivren found its engines. You nearly vomit, terror dragging you down again. They're all dead. An entire ship, gone, just like that.

Shrapnel slams into the runabout, ripping it open. You have one moment to realize you never buckled yourself in before you're yanked from the helm towards the tear and out into space. Your hands catch onto the edge, the silent vacuum of space stealing your desperate screams. _If only you had wings-_

A claw closes around your wrist and drags you inside, another claw stopping the automatic seal from closing.Then you're inside and the seal closes with a sharp clang. You take a deep shuddering breath, stunned out of your terror.

"Don't thank me." The garthaglaw growls. Cuina had gone straight to save Tonton from flying out the way you did.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure." You breathe out and sway unsteadily, sitting back in the helm and dazedly steadying the runabout from its spin. You make sure to buckle, this time. "You, uh, just needed a pilot, I get that."

"I could have piloted. I just don't think you should be allowed to die that easily." The garthaglaw snarls, clicking her mandibles. "I'll do it myself if you fuck up."

"Gotcha." You laugh with a slight hysteria. "I don't even know your name!"

"Wendi." She replies tersely. "I already know _yours_."

* * *

Undyne laughs gleefully as she watches the destruction unfold before her. The Ivren are no match for her!! So, yeah, one ship is gone, hundreds of starmas are dead, so what?? None of them were Alphys. Alphys didn't get an epic fight like this, so they should be fucking honored to die for Undyne!!

Papyrus tries to call her one more time, but she refuses to take it. He'll just complain again. Who knew he became such a wimp, right?? She laughs and orders her plasma cannons leveled on the _Liltha_. If he won't attack, she will.

"N-no." Her weapons officer says.

Undyne's eye narrows. "WHAT??" She shouts, forming a spear in her hand.

"I said- I said no!! The _Liltha_ is our ally! We can't just-"

A spear through the officer's throat stops her moralizing bullshit with a wet gurgle. "Anybody else??" Undyne snaps. Pain stabs through her chest and she nearly falls to the ground from the agony. Not now, not now, she can't have the fucking baby _now_!!

Two officers grab the wounded traitor and carry her away. Undyne snarls and the rest of her officers salute fearfully.

Papyrus tries to open a channel _again_. "Refuse it!!" Undyne cries, nearly frantic.

The coms officer disobeys. Agony brings Undyne to her knees as she screams. Papyrus glares at her from the screen. "I'M COMING OVER AND CHALLENGING YOU." He snaps.

"Right- _now_??" Undyne pants as the pain releases her for a moment.

"YES, NOW. YOU'RE NOT FIT TO LEAD IN YOUR CURRENT STATE AND THIS BATTLE IS SUICIDAL!!"

"Fuck you, you lowdown dirty traitor!!" Undyne growls. Papyrus ends the call. A runabout flies from the _Liltha, _heading for the _Alaco_.

Papyrus storms into the bridge a few minutes later. Undyne rises to her feet to kick his butt, but he draws out a weapon she thought she'd never see again after- "Punk, the fuck are you- AAAGH!!" She screams as the bone whip snaps against her sensitive earfin with a flick of his wrist.

"**_SURRENDER_!!**" Papyrus roars. If Undyne weren't in so much pain between the baby and her fin, she'd admire the amount of sheer wrath he managed to get into that one word.

"N-never-" She snarls back, then screams and cowers as the whip cracks out again, hitting her other fin. "D-dirty traitor!!" 

"I CAN KEEP DOING THIS UNTIL THE IVREN DESTROY OUR ENTIRE FLEET, OR YOU CAN SURRENDER AND SAVE YOURSELF A LOT OF PAIN." He barks.

"I surrender!!" Undyne cries, agony flooding out the shame and humiliation. "_Godsdamnit_!! You win!!"

"AS ADMIRAL, I ORDER THE GIL-MISTA FLEET TO RETREAT!!" Papyrus turns away from her, ignoring her as she moans on the floor. Some friend he is, stabbing her in the back with such a dirty trick.

The ivren stop attacking as the fleet warps away. Undyne braves a glance up at Papyrus and sees tears streaming down his cheekbones. "Weak." She growls.

"ONE OF MY SHIPS WAS _DESTROYED_!!" He bellows at her. "I HAD TO LEAVE THE _PAEN_ BEHIND BECAUSE OF _YOUR_ _IDIOCY_!! I THINK I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE FURIOUS ABOUT THAT!!"

Undyne grumbles that angry tears are still weak tears, then flinches when she sees he never put the whip away. "That was fucking cowardly." She growls foolishly. "I'm pregnant, and in labor, and you decide _now's_ a great time to beat me up."

"I'LL THRASH YOUR ASS IF YOU SAY ONE MORE WORD." Papyrus growls. He'll do it, too, Undyne doesn't doubt that. "AND AS OF NOW, PROMOTION WILL NOT BE GAINED THROUGH FIGHTING, BUT ON THE BASIS OF MERIT. UNDYNE, GO TO SICKBAY."

Undyne nearly says '_Fuck you'_, but she really doesn't want to deal with a painful thrashing on top of the agony of labor. She drags herself to sickbay, humiliation burning on top of the baby soul's writhing.

Her doctor makes her lay down and draw her soul out. Undyne screams as her soul feels like it's about to shatter. The doctor says something about ritual to the slime sedryn nurse. They get a bowl and fill it with ground leaves from the Vaux planet, water, and some different herbs and spices. Undyne grips the bed, gritting her teeth. The baby's soul is nearly bursting through the barrier of her own.

"R-Ross." Undyne groans. "Ross, baby, son, c'mon, you can do this-" She pants as the pain starts to subside since the two bumps, the thickest part of the soul, have already slipped out. The nurse puts the bowl under her soul so the baby can drop into it. The doctor draws a scalpel and waits.

The little soul slips free of Undyne's and plops into the potion. The doctor slices cleanly through the strings connecting Ross's soul to Undyne's and Undyne howls as the backlash hits her.

And then the pain is over. Undyne lays weakly on the bed, too exhausted to be furious or humiliated or anything else of the sort. Ross gradually soaks up the magic in the potion and forms a blue-gray-feathered velociraptor-form sedryn with a red ruff around his head. He hiccups and sniffs around his bowl with intense curiosity. Heh, she's so glad he's not like a weak adani baby who bawls the moment they're out.

She picks him up gently and cradles him to her chest. He curls up and starts purring as he sleeps. Tears sting in her eyes. "Alphys," She murmurs. "You woulda loved him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoiler comment below ;p read at your own risk


	16. Let Hope Become A Memory

You collapse as soon as the runabout touches down in the _Liltha'_s hangar. Se'Vir is outside with a security team, and another runabout lands beside yours; Papyrus storms out with a dark look on his face. You don't want to know what he was doing, and you definitely don't want to interact with him when he's in this mood. Wendi doesn't seem to, either, by the way she nervously backs away from the viewport.

Papyrus barks something at Se'Vir. You huff and then step out of the runabout, hopping down and prancing over to get between Se'Vir and the furious skeleton. "Sir-"

"ENSIGN RYUK, I SWEAR, I'M NOT IN THE MOOD FOR YOUR SHENANIGANS." He snarls. "GET LOST BEFORE I THRASH YOU FOR ABANDONING SHIP DURING A BATTLE."

"Cuina forced me to!!" You pout at him. "We had to save Tonton!"

"WHY THE _FUCK_ ARE YOU ARGUING WITH ME??" His fists are clenched, but he's trembling like he's about to break down.

"Tag, you're it, bitch!" You poke his shoulder before loping away.

He storms after you. "RYUK, FOR THE LOVE OF RIFLI, GET BACK HERE!!"

When you've drawn him into an alcove away from anyone else, you stop running and let him catch up. He staggers and supports himself with a hand on the wall, scowling at you. "Whatever happened," You say calmly, crossing your arms, "to not being an asshole."

He grinds his teeth together, fury blazing like fire from his sockets. "THE _PAEN_ IS _DESTROYED!!_" He chokes out, visibly struggling not to cry. There's already dried tears on his cheekbones. "THEY'RE ALL DEAD BECAUSE OF UNDYNE- AND I HURT HER AGAIN. _I'M ALWAYS HURTING PEOPLE_! BUT SHE _DESERVES_ IT BECAUSE SHE FUCKING KILLED THEM ALL!!" He collapses to the floor, rattling his bones helplessly. "GO AHEAD. LAUGH. TELL ME I'M WEAK OR THAT I'M A TERRIBLE DICK WHO CAN'T FUCKING KEEP MYSELF TOGETHER."

"No." You reply and sit beside him. "You're probably the second-bravest person I know. And- and it's reasonable to be pissed off. You care about your people _so much_. It hurts to see them get hurt or killed." Your eyes burn. "And- it's so fucking stupid that Undyne attacked the Ivren without provocation." You fall silent for a moment, staring at the swirling mural of a waterfall on the opposite wall. "Also, aren't we all about to die?"

"I Took Command And Ordered A Retreat." He says dully. "So Not Today."

"Oh. Okay."

Silence reigns for a few minutes more. Then Papyrus asks, "Who's The Bravest You Know?"

"MK. He's still mad that you never came to check on him."

"I Suppose I'll Have To Apologize For That." Papyrus says.

"Anything else you wanna get off your chest?" You ask. "I'm still the counsellor, apparently, so, y'know."

"Why'd You Do This?" 

"Do what?"

"_This_. Provoking Me Into Chasing You, Despite Knowing I Could Easily Thrash You."

"But you didn't." You say. "You kept control of your anger. You- I knew you were only bluffing."

"That Doesn't Answer The Question."

You huff. "Cause you looked like you needed to get away from everyone. And if you _do_ need to hurt someone, I- I'm the safest person for that, I guess."

"That's- That's Not Healthy _Or_ True, Ensign. You're On My Ship, One Of My People, So Hurting You In My Fury Over Undyne Would Be A Mistake." He says sternly. "But- thank you." He stands up. "I need to go back to the bridge. Go hide Cuina and Tonton somewhere, I have a feeling the Ivren won't let us get away with their prisoners this easily."

"Yes, sir." You get up too. "And Admiral?"

"What?"

"For what it's worth, I don't think you're _too_ dickish anymore."

"Small Mercies." He growls, then waves a hand, dismissing you. "Get Lost."

You head back to the hangar, where Cuina has started to put Tonton back together again on the floor. Wendi is running back and forth getting tools and stuff. Cuina squawks at you. "Help fix Tonton!"

"You need to hide." You squawk back.

Eventually, you manage to get Cuina and Tonton into your old maintenance closet. Wendi staggers behind, weighed down with all the tools. Inside the closet, you turn up the light.

Cuina works quickly and deftly to put Tonton back together again, using kis flexible beak and slender claws to twist wires and place electrodes. You and Wendi assist with handing over tools and finding wiring and parts. When ke's done, ke flicks a switch under Tonton's chin and the android powers on with a breathy "Ohhhh yessss~"

Tonton smooths his hair back, grinning seductively as he scans the room. Then he falls to the floor again, his grin dropping as he trembles. Cuina catches him and nuzzles his head. "Thought you dead, Tonton." The ivren says in rough Sedryn.

"I'm okay." Tonton sighs. "I'm- I'm okay, thanks to you, darling." 

"Keep hiding." You tell him and Cuina.

"I don't see why they'd still be after me, dear." Tonton says with a slight note of condescension.

Cuina pecks him gently. "Not you. _Me_."

"Of course, dearest."

You slip out, following Wendi as she heads back to her station. "What do you want??" She snaps.

"I- I owe you a dinner or something." You mumble.

"I told you, don't thank me." She retorts, then huffs, scratching her thorax. "But if we have fish in stock, that would be nice some night."

"Got it." You turn to go. Her claw digs into your shoulder, stopping you.

"Don't think I'm forgiving you, traitor." She snarls. "I won't forget what you did."

"Neither will I." You snap back and leave to go back to work. When you return to your nest later, you take out the weird cube you stole and hide it in a pillow, then fall asleep, planning to give it to MK. But you forget all about it when you wake up.

The Ivren don't catch up the next day, or the day after, so perhaps they've given up on their prey. The funeral rites for the _Paen'_s crew are split between the remaining ships, and you help Papyrus schedule the _Liltha_'s part in them.

Tonton joins you in counseling, while Cuina helps out with engineering, picking up the common language rather quickly. The starmas have been half-boycotting-half-using-it-to-roast-you the counseling anyway, but when Tonton starts advertising group therapy sessions with himself and "my darling~ assistant," people show up and respect him in spite of-- or possibly because of-- all his melodramatic ways.

You're completely run ragged between all your duties, exhausted whenever you finally get a break. As the head janitor still, you have to schedule starmas for various sections of the ship, check it and re-clean it when they purposefully leave certain parts dirtier than before, and then clean your own sections. As the head cook, there's three shifts to have two meals ready for each. And as the morale chief, you're on a project deadline of three weeks to improve the efficiency of the crew, but everybody is the exact opposite of helpful. Add to that the funeral rites, and you're half-dead every time you're able to collapse into your nest of blankets and pillows.

You stagger right into Papyrus's talwar during practice, staring dully at the curved blade as the flat smacks your ribs, not minding the sting. Your own rapier falls from your hand and clatters on the floor before dissipating. "Alright." Papyrus says and grabs your hand, dragging you over to a bench and making you sit down. "Have You Been Sleeping??"

"Sleep? What's that?" You retort tiredly. 

He scowls, but it's not an angry scowl, it's concerned. "Go Back And Rest." He orders. "I'll Talk To Esther About Lightening Your Workload."

"N-no." You protest. "I- I can't stop, I need- I need to-" Tears sting in your eyes.

"Ryuk, you're not going to fix anything by dying of exhaustion." Papyrus pats your head. "And you've been working hard to prove yourself to me so far, but I may have been pushing you too far, and that's on me. So go rest."

You sob into your hands, curling in on yourself. The soft weight of his hand on your head startles you into a hiccup. "I- I'm sorry." You mumble.

"I Forgive You." He replies and you burst into tears again. "Now Go Rest, That's An Order."

* * *

A blip appears on the scanner two weeks after the _Paen_'s destruction, causing pandemonium to ensue as everyone scatters to battle stations. Papyrus orders all fire to be focused on the ivren, ignoring the larger and more tempting target of their ship. The strategy has already been hammered out for this eventuality. They'll try to keep the enemy at a distance, but if the ivren get too close, the ships will activate mag-pulses to repel and corrupt the weaponry that the ivren are outfitted with.

The fleet's formation has been carefully planned as well, the ships scattering kilometers away from one another in a triangular-web-like pattern, out of range of the ivrens' weapons but still in range of the railguns and plasma blasters of their allies, so that the ivren will have to scatter to get all the ships firing on them. Papyrus is aware that they could just group up and hit one ship at a time, which is where the secret experimental weapon comes in.

Luon and the other scientists and engineers have managed to outfit four ships with three-way teleportation technology. The first two ways are supposed to be safe enough and can be used for quick transportation in a pinch, but the third is pure focused disintegration. It only needs a soul lock now, the Vaux technology having been improved by Cuina's engineering talent, Luon's scientific cunning, and Alphys's study into thaumatech. It's still experimental, though. It could explode, so the fleet will wait for Papyrus's order to authorize the use of the tech.

The ivren get within firing range, and the gunners are put to the test with the tiny targets. Railguns first. Then, as the ivren get closer, the plasma cannons and lasers fire. Several of the ivren explode mid-space, then hurtle towards the ships in last ditch efforts to be of use. The mag-pulses activate when the ivren get too close, flinging them away.

After two hours of battle, the _Heryn_ is faltering and several other ships are running low on energy. The _Liltha_, as the flagship, could still go for hours longer. Papyrus orders a retreat. The ivren don't follow right away. He expects they'll take another week or so to catch up, perhaps because their warp speed is slower than the Gil-Mista's.

Commander Suzy gives him a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his skull. He sighs. Sans pats his arm. "good work, papaya."

Suzy snorts. Irritated, Papyrus shoots a glare at her and she stifles her laughter. Sans's grin widens. Before the elder can make another joke about Papyrus being a fruit or whatever, Papyrus cries, "Good Work, Everyone!!"

"Please don't get drunk." Se'Vir adds. "It would not be helpful."

"Yes, Please Also Be Responsible And Make Sure Your Subordinates Aren't Getting Drunk Either!" Papyrus adds sternly. He's exhilarated--and exhausted--from the battle, even though by the Republic's standards it would count as a loss since they ran away. "But!! Do Have Fun!!"

Suzy gapes at Papyrus. The new helmsman who replaced Ensign Jazz after her death, a dagnir Ensign from the Alliance whose name is M'rer, salutes with a delighted, "Yes, sir," and then glides out of the bridge, presumably to obey.

"Sir, are you alright?" Dexi asks in concern.

"I'm fine, why??" Papyrus frowns.

"You're not giving us more responsibilities? You're just- telling us to have fun?"

"yeah, papaya, that's a bit weird for you." Sans chuckles. "but i ain't complainin'."

"What's So Weird About It?? I Care About All Of You, So Of Course, In My Great Intelligence And Pragmatism, I Would Know When To Allow For Recreation!!" Papyrus retorts.

Suzy giggles. "Oh my _gods_."

Se'Vir pats his arm in commiseration. "I always knew you were a dork at heart, sir." He says.

"YOU'RE _NOT HELPING_!!" Papyrus shrieks and throws up his hands. "FINE, IF YOU'RE ALL SO INSISTENT ON HAVING MORE WORK TO DO, THEN IT'S AN ORDER!! FUCK OFF, ALL OF YOU, AND HAVE FUN OR I'LL FEED YOU TO THE TELEPORTATION ARRAY MYSELF!!"

"Yes, sir!!" Suzy squeals and grabs Se'Vir to drag him away. Lieutenant Esther, who generally stays silent unless spoken too first, approaches Papyrus after everyone else has gone.

"That was kind of you, sir." She says with a sweet quirk of her lips to one side.

"I _CAN_ BE KIND!!" Papyrus cries. "WHY IS EVERYONE SO SURPRISED THAT I CAN BE KIND??"

"Hm, I have no clue." She says drily. "Maybe because you're always running us all ragged, yourself included."

Papyrus huffs and collapses into his chair. "Alright, I Admit, That Was A Mistake."

"Not really, no. I agree you could have loosened up and given us breaks when there weren't any enemies to fight, but we had to work so hard to stay ahead in our battles." Esther says.

"Thank You, Esther." Papyrus pats her head. "Now Are You Going To Follow Orders Or Do I Have To Drag You To The Teleportation Array??"

"You would never." She laughs and shoves his arm playfully. "I have a party to go to. MK and Luon are holding a bonding feast. Maybe you should come, too."

"Perhaps." Papyrus replies. Esther leaves and he sighs, staring out the viewport at the unfamiliar stars. He wants to go back to the Vaux, but he can't until the ivren ship is shaken off his tail. He needs to ask about the wormhole.

He gets up and leaves the ship to the computer. Warp is relatively safe for autopilot to be activated, and the scanners will alert him if any ships show up nearby. Going to his quarters, he decides to have a glass of sake before collapsing in bed.

He pours it and sips, then remembers he was supposed to train with Ryuk and Bracken today. Oh well, he can have Bracken do it alone, or maybe Tonton would like to step in. The android prefers that name, saying the old one gives him traumatic flashbacks. Papyrus nurses his drink, swirling it around. Didn't Ryuk say they were some kind of android? And yet they have a soul. He's curious about that, but they never offered any more information and he never asked.

Ryuk stumbles out of the closet, tripping over a pillow, and then blinks drowsily at Papyrus. He waves a hand in dismissal. "Off with you." He says. "I won't be joining the training practice today."

"Oh." They say, sounding disappointed. "Bracken had something he wanted to show you."

"What's that?" 

"I can't tell you, duh, it's a surprise. Bitch." Ryuk says. And Papyrus wonders with a small jolt of surprise, when did their insults start being so fond??

"Fuck Off." He says, assuming there's no vitriol in his own words only because he's tired.

"Yes, sir!" They snap off a jaunty salute and then come over to him and grab his hand. "Only if you fuck off with me!"

Papyrus splutters. "NYEH??" They drag him off the couch and out the door. "Let Go, Fine, I'll Come With!" His skull heats with embarrassment. "But I'm Not Going Easy On You!!"

"You can go easy on me if you're tired, I don't mind, asshole." They retort playfully.

"Here I Thought You Were Cured Of Your Insolence." Papyrus bemoans.

"What??" They cry. "Bitch, please, insolence is to me as shit is to your attitude!"

"_That's_ _it_. You're _begging_ to be thrashed." He growls.

"_Eep_!" They yelp and flee the rest of the way to the gym.

He steps inside and then nearly facepalms. The lights are off, but that hardly matters since Sedryn have good night vision. He can see every single person lying in wait to ambush him. "Ryuk, So Help Me-"

"Surprise!!" The lights flash on. Papyrus flinches back, but manages to restrain his magic from reacting. All his officers are here, including MK and Luon. And Sans, too, of course, who's chatting with Cuina about physics while Tonton leans on Sans's head, stretching his fabulous legs.

Lost for words as to how _stupid_ his officers all are to hold a _fucking surprise party_ for a hypervigilant battle-ready sedryn, Papyrus just stares. Suzy skips up to him, "We made a cake for you! Happy birthday!"

Papyrus presses his fingers to the bridge of his nasal ridge and lets out a long breath. "I'm Going Back To Bed. Ensign Ryuk, Triple Training For You Tomorrow." He fights back against the irritated miasma that threatens to overwhelm him. "_Thank_ You But _Good Night_."

"Yo, you can't just dismiss our hard work like that!" MK stomps forward. "At least thank Esther and me, we put it together since Sans said it's your birthday today."

"Sans Lied." Papyrus grumbles. "Besides, Sedryn Don't Celebrate Birthdays."

"Yo, that's dumb." MK retorts. "Just cause we never had parties down in the stupid Underground doesn't mean we can't adapt adani traditions for our own! Now sit your ass down, yo, and enjoy yourself. Doctor's orders."

"_HHH_-" He huffs loudly. "I Appreciate The Sentiment, But I'm Extremely Worn Out. Please, Enjoy Yourselves. But I Just Want To Sleep."

MK glares at him. "Fine, go be a killjoy, yo, we'll have fun without you."

"I'm Sure It Won't Be Hard." Papyrus mutters fatalistically, wishing he and Undyne weren't pissed at each other so she could thrash everyone's asses. He turns and leaves, stone clenching around his soul.

When he reaches his quarters, he growls at Sans, who took a shortcut and is now plopped on the couch. "What?? Are you going to tell me to get the stick out of my ass too?? Because I'm pretty sure it's stuck there for good."

Sans chuckles. "nah, Paps. just wanted to say i'm sorry. i figured it mighta been fun, but i shoulda timed it better, moved it to tomorrow when the battle came up."

Papyrus sighs. "If You Have It Tomorrow, I Promise I'll Come And Attempt To Enjoy Myself." He says. He doubts any enjoyment will occur, though.

Sans winks at him. "it's a deal, bro." Papyrus flips him off, still pissed with his older brother.

* * *

The day after the second battle with the ivren, Papyrus comes to his postponed birthday party. MK watches him with a glower on his muzzle, waiting for the right moment to confront him. Ryuk leans against the wall beside MK, chattering mindlessly about cool recipes using beetles and the new art style that the starmas have started developing. MK nods along, barely even half-listening.

"Hey, MK." Ryuk waves a cup of juice at him. MK shoots them with a mock glare.

"Yo, I'm brooding. Don't interrupt."

"Hey, brooding-"

"Say one more word and we'll see who's better with a sword." MK threatens. Ryuk shuts up, knowing better than to doubt MK's proficiency with blue magic.

"Ribbit." They mumble to themself. MK rolls his eyes. "It's not a word."

"It counts, yo."

"Does not!"

"I wanna see your progress anyway, yo. I won't go hard on you, deal?"

Ryuk huffs. "And here I thought I could get out of training for two days in a row."

"Haha, yo, no way that dick would let you."

"Why are you mad at him, anyway?? Me, I get, I pissed everyone off." They say. "But him?? What's he done besides his best to protect everyone and be a dick while doing it-? Oh, nevermind."

"He's my friend, yo." MK says. Ryuk looks confused at that. "It's petty, I know, but- yo, he never came to check on me after Frisk broke my glamour. The only time he ever came to sickbay was when he brought you after your, uh, incident, and he didn't seem to even know I was mad at him."

Ryuk grimaces at the memory, sipping their juice. "Well, did you talk to him about it??"

"Yo, he's been busy, so. I guess not." MK says.

"Go talk to him." Ryuk shoves MK in Papyrus's direction as the admiral talks to Esther and Luon.

"Yo, why isn't Sans at your throat, anyway?? Aren't you being shunned?" MK changes the subject quickly to postpone the confrontation.

They wince, rubbing their neck. "Uh, we have a sort of truce for the party. I don't talk to him, he ignores me, we both stay in separate sections of the room, and he won't thrash me for being in his line of sight."

"Oh, cool. So you could, like, yo, make funny faces at him and he wouldn't react?"

Ryuk chokes on their juice. "Uh?? No??" They splutter.

"C'mon, do it, yo."

"You're such an ass, Mil-Gwedh." They retort. "Fuck off and make up with Papyrus."

MK huffs. "Killjoy." 

"He could _kill_ _me_!" They hiss. "MK, do you not see my hands?? _He did that._"

"Uglyass epic battle scars, Ryuk, you should be proud of them." MK says sagely.

They splutter some more, seeming like they're not sure whether to be upset, amused, or mad. "Go fuck a snake."

MK blushes violently. "Go fuck a skeleton- oh wait." He jeers back. "According to ninety-percent of the population on the _Liltha_, you already are."

"Way to rub salt in the wound, MK." They grumble.

"You deserve it."

"Maybe, but you said-"

"Yo, don't use my own words against me, that just isn't fair."

"You're stalling." Ryuk says drily. "Go on."

"I'm going to fucking fight you after I talk to him, and you're going to fall on your ass, and then you're gonna need to go to sickbay because it'll be a big uglyass bruise on your butt, and you know what I'm gonna do?? _Laugh_ at you."

"Deal, now fuck off." Ryuk shoves him again.

MK wishes he could flip them off, but he settles for using his magic to spill their juice all over their uniform. They splutter and glare in shock, but he just bleps back and turns away to confront Papyrus.

Papyrus seems delighted to see him, which surprises MK after they were both so rude to each other last night. "Yo-"

"I Need To Apologize." Papyrus says.

"What?" MK stammers, confused. Did he miss something? Since when has Papyrus ever apologized??

"I Never Checked On You After The Conflict With Frisk, And I've Been Informed You're Mad At Me For That, Which Is Understandable. So, I'm Sorry."

"Yo, you could have at least asked Luon how I was doing." MK retorts.

Papyrus rubs his neck-spine sheepishly. "I Realize That Now."

"I forgive you." MK blurts before he can mess it up with more accusations. "And, yo, that's really great of you to apologize, I thought I'd have to force it out of you or something."

"Nyeh Heh, I Am Pretty Great Like That!" Papyrus brags, preening. MK sighs, preparing for a long rant about how Papyrus is _just the greatest_. "But According To A Certain Ensign, I'm Only The Second-Bravest Person They Know. The First Is You, And I Have To Agree With Them There."

MK grinds his teeth, angered. "Yo, if this is some patronizing bullshit about my- my- yo, I don't want to hear it."

Papyrus looks surprised. "What?? No?? You're Our Doctor. You Have To Face Death And Injury Every Time There's An Accident Or Battle. I Never Appreciated That. MK, You're Brave Because You Keep Moving Forward, No Matter What Obstacle Gets In Your Way, And You Never Abandon Your Comrades!!"

MK's eyes sting with tears. "Y-yo, I'm gonna fight Ryuk." He says, unable to respond to the soul-warming speech. "They kept pushing me to talk to you."

"Good, They Need An Easy Victory."

MK staggers back in shocked offense. "What?? Yo, Papyrus, if you think Ryuk has a non-zero chance of winning, then you are dead wrong."

"I've been training them for a while now." Papyrus says. "They're a quick learner, although I had to get them motivated before they would _start_ learning. And when was your last practice, again? Years ago? I doubt you stand a chance." The skeleton smirks.

He's goading MK on, the raptor realizes. Papyrus wants to see a good fight between his former apprentice and his current one. "Fuck you, yo, I'm gonna smash their ass in the ground." MK retorts.

"Do you think you can take Bracken?" Papyrus asks.

MK frowns and looks at the adani. "Yeah, definitely."

Papyrus chuckles to himself. "Winner fights Bracken, how's that. And then the winner of that battle fights me."

"Fine, yo!" MK snaps and storms into the ring. "Ryuk, get your ass over here!"

"Nope." Ryuk grins back. Somehow they've managed to sneak away and change their shirt to a dry one and then sneak back. Or maybe they just have a secret stash of clothes in the ants' nests.

"Why not??" MK demands petulantly. Then he sees why, Sans is a few feet away. Same section of the room. "Hey, Sans!" MK calls.

"yeah, kid?"

"Either extend the truce with Ryuk or move to the wall, yo. I want to fight them."

"okay." Sans says, winking lazily, and doesn't move. MK waves at Ryuk to come over.

"He never agreed." Ryuk says suspiciously, not moving.

"UGH, WILL YOU TWO STOP DANCING AROUND EACH OTHER JUST FOR ONE HOUR??" Papyrus cries. "SANS, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO _HURT_ RYUK AT ALL FOR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS WHILE YOU'RE BOTH AT MY PARTY."

"okay." Sans says again.

MK gestures again at Ryuk, who shrugs. MK mouths, '_make funny faces_' and Ryuk flips him off as they come into the ring. "Yo, if I win, you have to make a funny face at Sans, okay?"

"You heard that, right??" Ryuk cries. "I'm being good! MK is being a terrible influence!!"

"Yo, you know you want to."

Papyrus steps forward and produces a weapon for Ryuk. MK draws his own weapon from his inventory, a morning star. Ryuk gulps at the sight of the large, spiky mace. "Can't we, I dunno, have a rule against maces and hammers??" They plead.

"kid, suck it up and fight already." Sans snaps back. "i'm gonna enjoy this."

"Yeah, well, I know _you_ will." They snipe back, slipping the handle of their own weapon into their palm. MK frowns at it. It's the weirdest dagger he's ever seen, consisting of two blades, one from either end of the hilt, and spiked knuckle dusters on the grip. Each blade can't be more than ten inches long, and they're both wavy. "What's that, yo?"

"I recently started training with it." They reply, seeming bashful for some reason. "Papyrus calls it a haladie."

MK raises his mace with his will. Both weapons are pure magic attacks, so they won't hurt too badly if either opponent lands a hit. Ryuk gets into a low centered stance.

"Start!" Papyrus calls.

Ryuk slips into movement. They duck and weave as the morning star slams down, deflecting the haft away with their haladie. MK realizes he can't let them get within his reach or he's dead, so he focuses on keeping them away by scaring them with wide heavy swings, keeping their attention on the mace instead of on himself. But they roll underneath one of the smashing blows and hop up again past the mace's reach, glee in their eyes.

MK grins at them and slams the mace into their back. But they drop to the floor and roll away before it can hit. MK realizes he might need to take them a bit more seriously, so he shifts his focus from scaring them away to trying his best to knock them down or disarm them. Ryuk dances away from the mace, yelping when it nearly grazes them.

The battle goes on for a good while in this stalemate, since MK can't hit Ryuk and Ryuk is too busy trying to avoid getting hit to try to hit back. MK pants, starting to cramp up and get out of breath. He hasn't used his blue magic for longer than three minutes at one time, so using it for- about five minutes, now, is exhausting. He starts to wonder if maybe he should work out like Luon does each morning, and then, as soon as that thought enters his head, Ryuk's haladie taps his neck. "Fuck."

"Boom!" They cry happily, panting as well.

Papyrus claps. "Very Good. Now, As We Agreed, The Winner Fights Bracken."

Ryuk's cheer disappears. "Oh. Shit, if I'd known that, I woulda lost."

Papyrus grins wickedly. "Precisely Why I Didn't Tell You."

MK grins and smacks Ryuk's back with the morning star in revenge. "Yo, how'd you beat me??"

"Eep-!" Ryuk yelps and glares at him. Sans chuckles in the background. They shake their damp hair out haughtily. "These two weapons weren't a good match-up. They're too incoherent."

"Incongruent." Papyrus corrects.

"Fine, I'll watch you get your butt kicked by Bracken." MK grumbles. He wishes Luon came to the party, but the boyfriend claimed he had work to do.

"Cheer for me, MK!" Ryuk pumps their fist in the air. The other officers had gathered around to watch MK's and Ryuk's battle, and they remain in a rough semicircle, chatting amongst each other and only sparing cursory attention to Bracken as he gets in the ring.

Bracken draws out a scythe made of wood and plasma. MK gapes at it. Papyrus calls, "Ryuk, land one hit on him and I'll grant your latest petition."

Ryuk sinks into their stance. Bracken laughs raucously and readies his scythe. MK sidles over to Papyrus. "What's the petition, yo?"

"They wrote an essay on how increasing the number of pillows in starmas' quarters would increase efficiency and productivity." He replies.

MK snorts. "I hope they win, then."

"I do, too." Papyrus grins, then barks, "START!!"

Suzy hops over to Papyrus. "Sir, we want to fight, too!"

"Why Not. Alright, Split Up Into Groups Of Two And Get Rattan Swords."

"Yo, I'll take Sans." MK crows, still tired. "He's so lazy, he'll be an easy win."

Papyrus snorts. "Fifty-fifty on that, I'd flip a coin."

"On which of us will win??" MK asks in confusion.

"On whether he feels like being a lazy bum or actually putting the barest minimum effort into something."

Starting to get offended, MK retorts, "Yo, your brother is so weak, I could beat him easily."

"You Hear That, Sans??" Papyrus chuckles.

"yup." Sans says right behind MK, who, for the record, does not yelp, only gasp a little bit.

"Your Choice." Papyrus says. "I Don't Care Whether You Feed MK's Ego Or Humiliate Him, It's Really Up To You."

MK's muzzle heats with fury. "Yo, I'll beat Sans, and then I'll fight and beat you!"

"_Boom_." Ryuk's quiet yet firm declaration of victory snaps MK's attention back to them. Only Ryuk looks exhausted, while Bracken seems like he's barely even winded as he smirks down at them. Bracken has a dagger as well, which he must have brought out at the last minute after Ryuk got under his scythe's reach, but Ryuk's haladie is triumphantly pressed against Bracken's gut.

"Incongruent." They say again to MK with a shrug. "I just got lucky he didn't decide to start with his falchion."

Bracken smirks. "I let you win. I heard what your petition was, and I want in on it."

"Of course you did." They grumble. "I can't get a single honest hit on you."

"Now You Face Me." Papyrus smirks, and MK giggles at their look of horror.

"What??" They cry. "Fine. But remember what you promised!"

"I do, even though you most definitely will lose." Papyrus replies.

They sigh and get into a ready stance as Papyrus goes into the ring and draws his talwar. "Here goes nothing."

Papyrus moves first. MK watches the one-sided fight with amusement. Papyrus has always been a beast when it comes to armed combat--the pun is not funny and never will be--and Ryuk, who's been training for less than two months, doesn't stand a chance. The opponents' weapons are definitely not incongruent this time, as Papyrus still has a longer reach than Ryuk, yet more manageable than a scythe or a mace.

Ryuk lasts maybe fifteen seconds before Papyrus bats their haladie aside and smacks the flat of the blade against their ribs. "Done." He says. "You didn't land a single hit, again."

Ryuk huffs, but bows and hands the haladie back to Papyrus with a fond pat to the hilt. MK smirks as they stagger over to him, sweaty and huffing. "Yo, were you two fighting or fucking?"

Ryuk stares at him. "That's _my_ joke. You can't steal my joke. Anyway, weren't you going to fight Sans??"

"I think he fell asleep." MK says ruefully, pointing to the fruit punch bowl, behind which Sans is nodding off against the wall. Ryuk sticks their tongue out at the sleeping skeleton, and MK giggles.

Papyrus interacts with his other officers again, going from spar to spar and correcting forms and postures. "Yo-" MK starts to ask Ryuk a question, but Luon appears in the gym door. "Luon!" MK cries and rushes over to him.

"I have finished it!" Luon cries. "Mil-Gwedh, Glamour Version Two-point-Oh is ready."

MK kisses him, overflowing with sheer joy.


	17. Let The Shadow Permeate

Bracken smirks as he parries Ryuk's haladie with his falchion. It's been a few days since the party, and they still can't get him unless he lets them. "Golly, you're so weak." He cries mockingly.

Ryuk doesn't reply, focused on the movements of the fight. They almost manage to slash at his arm, but he deflects it at the last second and retorts with a stab to their gut. "Hahaha!" Bracken jeers.

He puts away his falchion. Ryuk huffs and sets their haladie down. "Mil-Gwedh, do you still want to fight this bastard?" They jerk their thumb at Bracken.

"Yo, I could totally take him!!" MK cries. Bracken shakes his head, amused.

"You couldn't even take Ryuk, Monster Kid, so gee, I wonder why you think you can take me?"

MK growls and draws his morning star, holding it with wiry arms. It's an impractical weapon for duels, but MK doesn't seem to notice or care. Bracken draws his falchion again. "Ryuk, help him. You'll see, neither of you can beat me in a fight, not even together!" He crows.

Papyrus watches from the sidelines, not saying anything. Ryuk eagerly hops back into the ring and snatches their weapon up again. Bracken bleps at them, waggling his tongue. "Fond of that, aren't you. Too bad you'll never get to keep it."

They purse their lips with determination. "I'll land a hit on him eventually, just watch!"

Bracken sneers at them. Papyrus found an excellent motivator in the form of the cool weapon a few weeks ago, promising he'd give them a physical version if they managed to strike him even once. MK mutters something to Ryuk, who grins.

"Start!" Papyrus calls. MK swings at Bracken. He's easily avoided though, and the two's strategy is so obvious: they're trying to distract Bracken with the longer reach of the morning star while Ryuk attempts to slip past Bracken's falchion with the shorter reach of their haladie. Bracken ducks to avoid a swing, then parries the haladie, striking for Ryuk's ribs.

Ryuk twists their hand around, spinning the second blade around underneath the falchion, knocking it away. Before Bracken can bring his sword back, MK swings his morning star again from behind, forcing him to dodge. Ryuk slips inside his reach and delivers a twisting punch to his solar plexus with the knuckle dusters on the grip, then rolls back again as he tries to grab them with a bellow of rage.

He forgot about MK, he realizes belatedly, as the monster kid's spiked tail slams into his legs, knocking him down. Ryuk steps on his falchion and presses a blade to his throat. "Boom!" The ensign snarls gleefully. "Eat dust! Now who's the weak one." 

Bracken splutters. "Golly, still you, or are you forgetting it took _two_ of you, and I wasn't even at full power??"

Ryuk shrugs and fist-bumps MK. "We still beat you, yo." MK says.

Bracken growls under his breath. "Fine, now fight Papyrus."

Ryuk grins. "Hey, does it still count if MK helps me?" They call over to the skeleton.

Papyrus shrugs. "I'll Allow It. Bracken, Don't You Have Cleaning To Get Back To?"

Bracken groans and slams his head into his hands. "Golly, can't you let me slack off a few more hours??"

"Fucking Get Back To Work Or I Give You To Cuina. Ke's Been Looking For A New Assistant After The Last One Fled To The _Alaco_." Papyrus says with a note of amusement.

"Gee, Rus, you wouldn't do that to little old me, your best friend!!" Bracken complains, but gets up and leaves. He wonders briefly if he could get away with sneaking some cake from the kitchen, but the new head cook's wrath is a scary sight to behold.

Later, when Ryuk comes to help him, he sneers at them. "So??"

They droop, rubbing their side ruefully. "Nope."

"Hahaha, gee, you're never gonna win. Not surprising, since you _are_ a weak wimp." He shoves them. They glare and shove him back.

"Bet you can't beat him." They say.

"Oh yeah?" Bracken grins. "It would be a close match, but in the end, when I'm using all my power, I can thrash _Undyne_."

"Can _not_." Ryuk retorts.

"Can too!! I did, down in Skoria while you were off being a cowardly brat!" Bracken laughs at Ryuk's guilty flinch. "Not that I care, golly, I think it's awfully funny you managed to dupe them all into following you!"

Ryuk shrinks and storms off. Bracken makes a rude gesture at their back, then turns around and yelps to see Mettaton right behind him. "Gee, way to sneak up on me, Mettacrap!"

"Hmm." Mettaton hums. He prefers to be called Tonton now, but Bracken doesn't care. "My darling assistant has a tragic backstory too, do they?" He poses dramatically.

"Golly, who _doesn't_." Bracken snorts. "Where's your bird friend??"

"Off in engineering." Mettaton tuts. "But you, you're here, darling."

"Golly, how perceptive." Bracken rolls his eyes.

"I require assistance." Mettaton purrs as he does a standing split, turning his head to give Bracken a sidelong glance and running his hands through his idiotic hair. "With a certain project."

"What's that?"

"Sewing pillows, darling." Mettaton says.

Bracken outwardly groans, but follows Mettaton willingly to the counseling room, where the android has collected old clothes and different odds and ends of fluff. There are four other starmas, who greet Bracken with friendly waves. Bracken scoffs and plops down. "Beats cleaning any day." He says.

"Did you hear the Vaux might have a way back?" One of the starmas says in a conspiratorial tone as everyone has been sharing gossip.

"Is that why the Admiral is taking us back there?" Another pipes up.

"He is??"

"Oops. Confidential."

Bracken pokes the starma who spilled the beans. "Gee, you have to tell us, now."

"Fine. But, don't tell anyone else." She says. She's cute for a galvorn, with brown-grey feathers covering her head, and a scarred and tattered tail. "I'm the helmsman for third shift. In our meeting today, Admiral Eleos had the navigators plot a roundabout route to lose the Ivren and get back to the Vaux."

Bracken pricks his finger with a needle and curses. "Wait, so he actually wants to go back to that shithole galaxy??" He laughs.

The words are met with glares and grumbling. "We all do." Someone snaps.

"Golly, that's dumb. This place is great!" Bracken smirks. He can tell he's not welcome anymore, but he keeps sniping at the starmas, delighting in their irritation. Manipulation is _so_ much more fun with a soul-- even shards thereof-- to enjoy every second of it.

* * *

Three weeks from the _Paen'_s destruction, Papyrus wakes up to an old mushy love song blasting from the intercom. He covers his skull with a pillow for a moment as the melody starts to calm down his racing nerves. Then he rolls out of bed and dresses quickly. Knocking on the closet door, he scowls when nobody answers. He already assumed Ryuk's to blame for the music, but now he's sure of it, since they're usually asleep at this time.

He heads onto the bridge and sees Dexi frantically working with frustrated flickers of orange and red to try to turn it off. Suzy and Esther are obviously trying to not laugh, no help whatsoever, and Se'Vir clicks his beak in time with the beat of the latest song to come on. They all salute him. "Sir, I can't turn it off." Dexi complains.

"Is it interfering with any other functions?"

"No, but-"

"Then I don't see the problem." Papyrus replies.

"But, sir!" Dexi cries, throwing her hands in the air with a flash of red. "Aren't you concerned at all that somebody hacked into the computer??"

"Iroh." Papyrus says to the computer.

"Yes, Admiral?" Iroh says.

"Have You Been Hacked?"

"No, Sir. I Was Asked Politely."

"There, You See?" Papyrus sits down in his chair, humming under his breath as a particularly good song starts playing.

"But- but-" Dexi stammers in protest. "_Productivity!!_"

"Esther," Papyrus says. "What effect do you think music will have on our starmas' efficiency?"

"Nothing bad, sir." Esther replies. "In fact, the music is likely to raise morale."

"Why don't we do this every day, then?" Papyrus says. "The chancellors never allowed this, I say we take advantage of it while we can."

"You think we're going to get back?" Suzy cries excitedly.

"I Believe It." He replies. "If the wormholes were indeed artificial as the Vaux ambassador implied, we can find whoever is responsible for them and ask to be sent back." And then Frisk will reset and everyone will come back to life and everything will be just fine.

"Sir, _please_! Can't you find a way to turn it off??" Dexi snaps.

Papyrus smirks. "Why don't you ask the Chief of Morale."

She grumbles and stomps out of the bridge. Suzy and Esther giggle to each other. "It wasn't them." Esther confesses. "I did it. The music was still in the system so I asked Iroh to blast the playlist in the _Liltha_ and not let Dexi turn it off."

Papyrus stares at his normally-quiet-and-inconspicuous lieutenant. "Nyeh Heh Heh, I See Our Newest Ensign Has Been A Good Influence On You." He laughs. "Well, why don't we make a relaxing day of it. Se'Vir, authorize the acquisition of some cookies from the kitchen."

"Yes, sir."

As Se'Vir leaves to obtain cookies, Suzy sits back down in her console, still chatting with Esther. Papyrus stares into the holographic scanner, tapping his foot discreetly with the music. Asteroids and comets pass by with little green and yellow blips. A ship would be a blue blip. Like the three that pop up in the middle of octant-four. And the four others in octant-five. _Shit_.

Papyrus orders the fleet to change direction, but the _Liltha_ shudders under a pulsing blast and the lights all flicker out, replaced by the dim yellow of the emergency lighting. "Sir," Suzy cries, at the coms console since Dexi isn't present. "I've lost contact with the fleet!"

"The Fuck Just Happened??" Papyrus snaps.

"We were hit with something that disrupted our fusion cores, and we've dropped out of warp. Alone." Esther reports, fear shaking in her voice. "Sir, what do we do?"

"Battle Stations." Papyrus orders. "Keep Them Away From Us. Ensign M'rer, As Soon As Our Engines Come Back Online, Get Us The Hell Out Of Here." The helmsman salutes, their ears flat against their skull as their tail tucks tightly around their legs. Suzy relays his orders to the crew. The music keeps playing.

Papyrus stands up and breathes in. He needs to keep his people safe. He won't let anyone die on his watch. And it would be easier if Frisk could still reset, but that's not an option anymore, not yet. "Suzy, Ready The Disintegrator."

"Yes, sir!"

He breathes out. "M'rer, keep us away from those ships and evasive maneuvers if the ivren get too close. You're authorized to activate the mag-pulse if any come within one kilometer of the _Liltha_."

"Yes, sir!"

"Fire At Will."

* * *

You get up earlier than usual to sneak out and help Wendi cook some of the fruits from the large carnivorous trees on the planet the Vaux let the fleet land on. You're pleasantly surprised when music, _your_ music, starts to play on the intercom. Wendi seems to cheer up, too, sometimes even refraining from snapping at you whenever you do something different from her instructions, which happens more often than either of you like.

Dexi storms into the kitchen, red and orange like she's on fire, and grabs your arm to drag you away. You go limp and docile at the agony that washes through you with her touch. "H-help-" You manage to choke out to Wendi, who starts striding after you, yelling at Dexi to release her assistant.

As you're starting out the door of the mess hall, your eyes meet Kal'bun's. She's alone, you notice distantly. She sees you and stands up, shouting after you, then starts running to catch up.

Dexi yanks you forward with another burst of agony and you bite your lip to keep from screaming. She's not in control of her own emotions. Not like the kind nurse Ria, who would never hurt even you.

You laugh, then, despite the pain Dexi's inflicting. She's completely red now, dragging you mercilessly the long way to the bridge. Kal'bun and Wendi follow after, arguing with Dexi. You can't process anything anyone is saying.

Everything goes dark, then dimly lit with emergency lighting as the ship shudders. You grab onto Wendi's claw. She, for once, doesn't jeer at you for your fear, instead railing at Dexi still.

Then she goes quiet, but her mandibles are still moving. You're about to assume you've just successfully tuned everyone out, but you're also falling towards the wall, where a jagged hole has opened up. You grab for a handhold and grip Wendi's claw tighter, your breath stolen by the vacuum of space. Dexi holds onto your leg, desperate to not be flung into space, bright cyan terror flashing through her form. Wendi grips Kal'bun's arm with her other claw, the both of them heavy weights on your arm, which feels like it's about to tear. Somehow, you manage to not let go. Somehow, you manage to cling to Wendi and keep her and Kal'bun from being sucked away. Maybe your draconic soul gives you just enough strength. Or, more likely, it's the training and exercise Papyrus has put you through.

A huge, green-feathered ivren, larger than Cuina, larger even than Tonton, and possibly the stupid old goat too, claws its way into the ship. The automatic hull seal slams shut and you fall onto the floor in a heap with your three companions.

"Where is Cuina." The ivren squawks as your ears ring and you struggle to catch your breath.

"Don't have ker." You squawk back, breathing raggedly. "Ke's in another ship."

"What the fuck are you telling it, traitor??" Snarls Wendi, whose claw closes around your throat, making it rather difficult to breathe.

"N-Nothing!" You cry. "Let go, we need to run!"

Kal'bun flees, but the ivren leaps with a screech over your head and lands on her, pinning the meryn down with sharp claws that dig into even her tough scales. "Let go!!" You shriek. Wendi releases you. Dexi staggers to her feet and screams at the sight of the ivren, who screeches again and lashes at her with a wing.

You grab Wendi's arm. "The ants' nest. Get in there, it can't fit in there!"

"I'm not leaving Kal'bun!" Wendi snarls back and rushes to attack the ivren with a roar. You run to the nearest grate and claw it off, then turn back to see how Wendi's doing. She managed to get the bird off of Kal'bun's curled-up body, but somebody needs to help the meryn get to safety. Dexi shoves past you and climbs inside, fleeing without a second thought. The terror nearly overwhelms you at her touch. You want to follow her, badly.

Grinding your teeth, you clench your scarred hands into fists- _scaly_ _claws_. The ivren can't possibly hurt you any worse than you've already been hurt. But you'll be careful, and you'll avoid confrontation with it. You sidle around to Kal'bun and lift her to her feet, then help her limp to the grate. "Get in." You tell her. "Run, that's an order."

"W-Wendi." Kal'bun whimpers. "She- she'll die-"

"Go!" You snarl. "Run!"

She limps away. You turn back and gulp down the terror beating in your veins. "Uh- h-hey, birdie," You call in Ivren.

The ivren stops batting the limp Wendi about with their wings, but gives the garthaglaw's hard shell a harsh peck for good measure. You wish you had your haladie. It may not be effective against an ivren, but just holding it might make you feel a lot braver. You wish you had wings or claws, _something_, _anything_ to make you stronger. "Please stop?" You ask politely.

"Why should I?? You stole our prisoners!! You attacked us!!"

"U-uh, they fled from you! And- and we gave them sanctuary, yes, s-so- please let us go? Attacking you was a mistake! Our admiral at that time was reckless and foolish, but we mutinied and we don't want trouble with you!"

"You _killed_ several of our people." The ivren warbles menacingly, clicking their beak and approaching you with its head low like it's about to strike. You back up, terror clenching in your soul. This was such a bad idea. "You _stole_ from us."

"Th-that- you attacked us and destroyed one of our ships! S-so we had to defend ourselves!"

The ivren's head twists to stare at you with an unblinking black eye. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" It asks with a low chirping.

You whimper, continuing to back away slowly, holding out your hands to placate it. "N-no? I- I think you're pretty clever, actually-"

It leaps at you, who cowers with a terrified shriek. Its claws dig into your sides and it stabs your shoulder with its beak. "You're the idiot!!" It screeches. "Give Cuina back or die!!"

You curl in on yourself under its onslaught of powerful wings and piercing beak and sharp tearing claws, crying as you futilely struggle to escape. Close your eyes and go limp as it rips you to shreds. Death is a lot more painful than you thought it would be. You almost regret not leaving Wendi. _Almost_. There's still a small part of you that would have hated yourself even more bitterly if you abandoned one more person to die.

The weight of the ivren vanishes with a screech of sheer agony. Your eyes are swollen shut with gashes and blood, so you can't see what happened to it. Shouts sound as feet clomp the ground towards you. "Get Wendi to sick bay!" You recognize the voice as one of the starmas who loves to spit at you and shove you aside in the halls. You whimper pitifully for help, but his response is a sharp laugh and a kick to your side. "Look at this pathetic creature. Died running away, huh. Fitting for a coward." _No_\- you want to scream at him, but there's blood choking your throat, you can barely breathe, _everything hurts_.

Wendi's voice grates out. "Bring them, too, you son of a bitch."

If it didn't hurt so bad, you would start weeping for relief. You're dragged roughly through the halls, practically manhandled. Wendi snaps at your rescuers again, but you don't hear what she says as you finally slip into merciful darkness.

When you wake up, you're covered in bandages and stitches. "Wendi-" You manage to say hoarsely through a burning throat.

"She's fine, yo. So's Kal'bun, and Dexi doesn't have a single scratch on her." MK reports. You sink into the comfy mattress of the bed and purr with the pleasure of not hurting anywhere. MK chuckles. "Yo, you're cute when you're on drugs."

"'M not on drugs." You slur, trying to glare at him, but then grin instead. "You- you're on drugs. 'm a dragon. _Rawr_." MK snorts at you.

"Are they gonna be okay, doctor?"

You hear Wendi's voice and grin at her, unable to wave since your arms are tied to the bed. You start working to get one hand out of the restraints. "Hiii, Wendi! Y~you fought a big ugly bird!! Didja kill it?"

She stares at you for a moment, then guffaws. "Oh _Rifli_, the doc is right, you're freaking _adorable_. Fine, you know what? I can't hold a grudge with someone this cute, plus, you kinda saved my life, so. Uh. Yeah, you're forgiven. By me, at least. I ain't speaking for anybody else you betrayed."

"Yaya!" You cheer, feeling like you should be crying, but too peaceful and happy to do so. Later, you'll do it later.

Wendi stands at attention, saluting. MK turns and gapes. "Yo, admiral, _now_ you come down here??"

"It's Not As Though I Wanted To." Papyrus snaps, limping. "Heal My Ankle, I Have Work To Do."

"Say _please_~" You admonish him.

Papyrus scowls as he sits down. "_Please_." He spits. "What, Are They On Drugs??"

MK nods, smirking. "Yo, aren't they cute, Papyrus?"

"Depends." Papyrus retorts. "On Which Meaning You're Going For."

"What would you call them, then, yo??" MK crosses his arms, tapping one claw.

Papyrus looks at you, then says finally, "Unthreatening."

You stick your tongue out at him. "Wellll-" You slur, trying to be mad but failing miserably, "You're- _you're_ unthreatening!"

Papyrus hems and looks away, a faint tinge of pink to his cheekbones. "Just Heal Me Already??"

"Yo, I've got lots of injured here, I can't waste healing magic on you." MK says haughtily. "Do it yourself."

"I'm Exhausted." Papyrus says. "I Need All My Energy. We Just Barely Got Away From The Ivren This Time."

"Too bad, I guess you're limping around for a while, then." MK replies mercilessly.

"I- I can fix it!" You cry, giggling.

Papyrus scowls. "No, you can't."

Pouting, you whine, "Can too, 'm a dragon."

"You don't have magic." He retorts.

You beckon him over. "Secret." You hiss. "Come closer."

He comes close enough, leaning down over you with his head inclined. "Well?"

You managed to slip one hand free, so you boop him between his eye-sockets. "_Boop_." You say. "There, all better."

MK guffaws as Papyrus rises again to his full height and glowers. "MK. Take Them Off The Drugs So I Can Thrash Them, _Please_."

"Noooo~" You whine, giggling.

He scowls sternly, but you think there's a glint of amusement hidden deep down. "However, I Suppose You've Taken Enough Thrashings For One Day."

He leaves after MK puts his ankle in a splint. MK smirks at you. "Yo, now I need to take you off the drugs, since you got loose."

You pout at him, but MK is ruthless. It doesn't hurt when he takes the needles out, so you poke the spots of blood that rise from your pricked scales. Scales shouldn't be so soft and squishy, though.

Later, much later, when the sick bay has cleared enough for some of the nurses to spare extra healing for your more serious wounds, you're completely un-drugged and _absolutely done_ with MK's incessant teasing. You can't even fully remember what you're being teased for, so it's not fair. Wendi is gone, since her wounds were less severe thanks to her hard shell. Kal'bun, however, despite her tough scales, is still recovering as well. Dexi got away with only light bruising. It might be petty of you, but you kind of hope Papyrus punishes her for fleeing when her subordinates were in danger.

Kal'bun keeps glancing to you with a guilty look in her eyes. You raise an eyebrow in question. She finally huffs. "Sorry." She grunts. "I- I may have started the rumor about you and Papyrus. But you saved my life, so I feel kinda bad now." She chuckles. "Also, I didn't know you two were serious about each other. "

You splutter, scared that drugged-you did something Papyrus will hate you for. "Uh- Uh- no?? I was high?? And he's not into me like that?? At all??"

She looks confused. "Why'd he make you an officer?"

You hold up your hands. The bandages are gone now, the new scars criss-crossing over old scars on full display. It's almost like your hands are scaly. "I wasn't _not punished_, if that's what you think." You grin ruefully. "It actually hurt really bad. And the officer thing is another punishment _because_ everyone hates me- for good reason, granted."

She nods. "Ah. So. We just made it harder on you. I guess what I mean is, I'm sorry none of us gave you another chance, and, uh, thanks for proving me wrong today. I guess it's good you have the admiral on your side."

You almost protest that he's never been on your side. Your mouth opens to do so, the words on the tip of your tongue, but then they just fall away. Papyrus, even after you tried to get him and his people killed, even when everybody hated you, gave you a second chance. Or maybe it was a third chance. Possibly fourth, since you've fucked up a lot and it's kind of hard to keep track. He doesn't even _like_ you, yet he's been helping you.

"Yeah." You finally say. "He's pretty great."


	18. Reveal The Thoughts That Were Tucked Away

"Hey, Alphys, guess what!!" Undyne guffaws to the ghost of her dead wife. "Ross turned three weeks old today!!" She picks up the quickly-growing velociraptor, who tries to snap at her hands. "He's such a punk, Al, he's always trying to fight me!"

Someone knocks on the door. "STAY THE FU-REAK OUT!!" Undyne shrieks, throwing a metal pan. Ross screeches as well.

"Sir," Whoever it is says, "The _Liltha_ has disappeared from the rest of the fleet after an ambush attack by the Ivren. It's lost. What are your orders?"

Undyne stares at the door for a moment, blank. "Fuhuhu, oh, NOW you want my orders?? Get lost and find your precious Papyrus or whatever." She grumbles, rubbing her earfin. "Bas- jerk thinks he can get away with mutiny- _NGAH_!!" She bellows in rage, smashing a mug on the ground. Ross nips her hand and growls. "If he comes back, I'm gonna freaking whip _his_ bony butt, see how he likes that."

Hours later, she heads onto the bridge with Ross in a harness-leash at her side just in time to see the _Liltha_ limping back into the formation. She grins and opens up a channel with it. "Fuhuhu, they sure dusted your goshdanged butt, didn't they!!" She crows.

Papyrus glowers tiredly at Undyne, ignoring the child playing at her feet. "And whose fault is that, I wonder." He grumbles. "When _you're_ the one who provoked them first."

Undyne shoves away the twinge of guilt at the memory of the _Paen_'s destruction. She can't afford to be guilty over the loss of soldiers bred to die. "What's wrong, wimp, you afraid of _VICTORY_ now??"

"I'M AFRAID YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED, AND EVERYONE ELSE ALONG WITH YOU!!" He bellows, then looks away. "Call Me A Wimp If You Want, But I'm Fucking Scared Of Losing You, Undyne."

Undyne glares poisonously. "Should've thought of that _before_ you drew _that_ _thing_ on me again."

Papyrus winces, looking honestly guilty, something Undyne never expected from him. "Undyne, I Didn't Want To, But It Seemed Like My Only Option Other Than Losing All My Ships And Letting You Die."

Ross nibbles at Undyne's fingers, the only thing keeping her from clenching her fists. "Why the heck did you even keep it in the first place??" She demands.

"It's one of my attacks. I can't rid myself of it anymore than you can get rid of your flail." He retorts bitterly. "Face it, we've both done terrible things to each other. But that's never stopped you before."

'_So what changed??'_ goes unsaid. Undyne looks down at Ross. "_Fuhu_. Yeah. You're right. I'm so- so weak, aren't I."

"Not true." Papyrus says.

"Don't patronize me, punk, I know when I'm beat." The answer to the unspoken question goes like this: Undyne's never lost to Papyrus before by his own power. Sure, Asgore forced Papyrus to whip her whenever she went against orders or failed to meet expectations, but that was with the threat of both being thrashed by Asgore himself if she didn't submit or he refused. This time, he used it of his own volition, and he played dirty, striking where he knows she's weakest.

"Want a rematch?" Papyrus offers. "Since I cheated."

"I'll fuc-_reaking_ beat your ass." She snarls. "No whip. No flail. Just your talwar and my great-sword."

"Agreed."

"Winner gets control of the fleet." She continues. Papyrus stiffens, but finally nods.

"Very Well. _After_ we escape the Ivren."

* * *

Not everyone hates you. That's the first major oddity you notice after being discharged from sickbay. You can walk through the halls without being glared at or shoved, and while the glances you do get are most often still cold and reserved, a few are curious and one person even smiles at you. You think that one might be Wendi's girlfriend, since Wendi can never shut up about her when she's supposed to be focusing on cooking.

The second oddity is that Papyrus calls you up to the bridge. You're never called to the bridge unless you're in trouble, so you're understandably nervous. You trudge into your doom and startle when you see Sans, instinct telling you to duck for cover. So, of course, you hide behind the nearest person, which happens to be Papyrus.

"heya, kiddo." Sans says. That's the third oddity. Sans is supposed to hate your guts still. "heh. you can come out. Paps had me set a standing truce on the bridge, okay?"

"_Standing_ as in neither can sit at all or what? Cause I doubt that will be possible for you." You snipe.

"heh, okay, very funny." Sans says. "i'm proud of ya, kid. still mad, but also kinda proud." Resentment tries to rear into your throat, but you suppress it.

"In Light Of The Events Of Two Days Ago," Papyrus says as you sidle out from behind him. "I've Decided To Have You Train More Closely Under Lieutenant Esther For Your Position." He hands you a star-shaped pin with a _1_ on it. Uh oh.

"What about Wendi??" You try to give the pin back to him. He takes it and attaches it to your shirt after removing the pin with the rank _3_ on it, which was not at all what you meant to happen and mortification heats your face.

"Wendi has been awarded for her bravery as well." Papyrus says.

"I- I wasn't being brave-?" You protest, unwilling to take an unearned rank _again_.

"You faced down an opponent who you knew could have killed you and who _tried_ to kill you, all to save your comrades." He says gravely. "That _is_ what we call brave."

Lost for words, you settle for saluting him. "Yes, sir. Uh, thank you."

"Lieutenant Dexi, Come Forward." Papyrus snaps, the ire in his tone startling you into stiffening. "At Ease, Ensign." He says in a rather more gentle tone to you.

"Yes, sir?" Dexi steps out of the coms console.

"How Many Other Curunir Are There On This Ship?" Papyrus asks.

"Four."

"In This Fleet?"

"I don't know, sir, but I'm the strongest empath of everyone." She retorts, flickering rosy-pink with pride.

"But If I Need A Translator, I Do Have Other Options." He says. "Now, As An Officer, You Are Expected To Care For Your Subordinates. Do You Think Your Actions Two Days Ago Reflected That?"

"Sir, it was a deadly situation and we were all fleeing, you can't expect-"

Papyrus cuts her off. "If Ensign Ryuk, someone with a frankly _appalling_ track record," You wince at that, "Could find the decency and courage to help their star-mates, I don't see what possible excuse you could give me that would sway my decision. But please, do attempt to surprise me."

She sniffles, crying mercury tears. "Th-the ensign tried to run away, so I gave them courage to make them stay and f-fight, since I knew they've been taking lessons with you, so they had to have been stronger, and you know I'm physically weak."

Papyrus nods gravely. "You Make A Good Point." He says to her. You growl under your breath and his hand lands on your head in a firm pat of rebuke. "I Think All My Officers Should Be Trained In Armed Combat, Possibly Unarmed As Well. But That Doesn't Explain Why You Think I'll Believe Your Story Over Ryuk's, When _They're_ The One Who Got _Mauled,_ And Your Power Only Works With Physical Contact."

Dexi flickers red. "_Ensign_ Ryuk is a coward and a liar, sir, and you know I've always been your favori-"

"Silence." Papyrus snaps. "I Honestly Thought You Were Better Than That. Come Here."

You wince as he takes the badge of her former rank off of her uniform. He hands her a star pin with a _1_ on it, "You are demoted to ensign first-class, and your new assignment will be sent to your tablet. Dismissed."

A cold feeling surfaces in the pit of your stomach as you realize _worse_ might have happened to you if you'd run away behind her. You narrowly avoided being the target of Papyrus's disappointed anger this time. You're not quite sure which fate you'd prefer if you could redo it, the pain and scars you received from the ivren, or a scolding and punishment for fleeing.

"Se'Vir, Take The Coms Console, You're On Trial As Our Coms Officer For A Week, Then Suzy Will Take It For A Week, And I'll Decide Which Of You Will Keep It After That." Papyrus says. His hand absently pats your head again with a light push towards Esther's station, and you decide you'd take the fear and pain that came with helping your comrades over the punishment for cowardice any day.

You're still hesitant to call them _battle_ scars like MK does, and still leery of calling what you did _brave_, because, well, there was never any battle and you were terrified the entire time. You never fought the bird, you only tried to distract it so Wendi could get away, and the whole time you were backing away from it, ready to run.

You obediently hop over to the ops console and salute Lieutenant Esther. You're not sure what _class_ Lt. she is, but you're guessing probably first or second. She smiles at you and makes room for you inside the station. "So, morale chief, any ideas?"

You grin and sit down. "Well, I've been cut off from the grapevine for a while, but I know everyone always hated the sickly yellow of sickbay, so I was thinking maybe we could paint cheerful murals in there!"

Esther nods and hums. "Do you know how to requisition the resources and time needed for that?"

"Gee, I was just going to ask random fuckers if they wanted a turn with a- a paint- brush-" Your voice drips with sarcasm, until you belatedly realize Bracken has been a bad influence on you and subsequently trail off uncertainly.

Esther nods somberly. "That's one way to do it," She says, her lips twitching with hidden amusement. "Or you could schedule volunteers and request materials, then choose designs and get them approved through me."

"Oh." You say sheepishly. "Yeah, that."

"Now-" Esther starts.

"Se'Vir, fleet-wide alert, code turquoise!" Papyrus barks. Code Turquoise notifies everyone to go on blue alert and battle stations, but wait for negotiations of cease-fire. "Esther, check on Cuina's progress! Jaz- _M'rer_, prepare for evasive maneuvers!"

"Yes, sir!" Everyone cries.

"Ensign, are you ready to fight a battle?" Esther asks.

"Nope." You reply honestly, filled with nervousness.

"Good answer. Neither am I." She says. "Our job during battle is relatively easy compared to the others', but still hard, we have to keep track of the starmas and notify the different sectors of potential evac hazards."

"Is that how you disintegrated the ivren that boarded?"

"Precisely. You'll keep an eye on the progression of the battle, while I watch over the starmas, so report any ivren or weapon fire that gets too close, and which sector of the ship it's nearest to."

"Yes, sir." You reply and look up to the view-screen. Cold terror makes you shrink into your seat. There's- ten- fifteen- twenty- the ivren ships keep coming. The blue blips on the scanner hologram surround the Gil-Mista fleet.

"Open A Channel." Papyrus orders Se'Vir. "Find A Translator."

"I know Ivren, sir." Se'Vir replies.

"Really?" Papyrus says. "Good. Ask Them For A Cease-Fire."

The channel opens and a huge pink ivren with a tattered tail and a scarred beak cocks his head as he squawks, "You will all die!!"

"Please, let us go?" Se'Vir asks. "We don't know why you keep chasing us."

"You gave sanctuary to our prisoners and stole from us, then killed many of us!! You will perish as a lesson to all!"

Se'Vir reports the words to Papyrus. Sans facepalms and joins Se'Vir to tell him what to say. "We apologize for our initial provocation, and we surrender to the ship we attacked. We offer whatever tribute you demand in return for our lives and the sanctuary of your former prisoners."

The ivren preens, rosy feathers lying smooth with pride. "Send us a list of your inventory and we will decide. Also send the stolen data-cube with the thief, and I will consider forming a cease-fire with you."

"Thank you!" Se'Vir cries.

You shrink back into your seat, hyperventilating, your pulse pounding in your throat as you feel all hot and cold at once at the memory of what you stole from the ivren and subsequently forgot all about. Esther taps you, who flinches. Your hands clench into claws and you bare your fangs, lashing your imaginary tail in a vain effort to feel brave.

"Ryuk, you were with Cuina when ke rescued Tonton." Se'Vir says, still in Ivren. "Do you know who stole a data-cube?"

"Y-yeah." You mumble.

"Who?"

"I don't think I should tell you." You retort.

The ivren on screen squawks angrily. "Send the thief over or you all die!"

"The thief died." You invent a lie on the spot. "When you destroyed the _Paen, _debris hit our runabout and the thief was flung into space with the data-cube."

Se'Vir clicks his beak, thankfully going with it. "Yes, I remember that."

"What??" The ivren cries. "Fine! We'll take fifteen tons of food as tribute."

You wince at the amount. The fleet is at least eight days out from any M class planets with potential resources. Se'Vir taps his taloned fingers together with a nervous glance to you.

"what're they saying?" Sans asks.

"They want something that was stolen from them along with the thief or they want fifteen tons of food." Se'Vir says.

"Give Them The Food." Papyrus orders without hesitation.

"bro, we can't make it to-"

"So We Go Hungry For A Couple Days. Big Fucking Deal." Papyrus retorts. "We've All Gone Hungry Before, We Can All Handle It. I'm Not Giving Up Any More Of My People."

"I- I'm the thief." You admit quietly, terrified that he'll change his mind, but unwilling to hide the information from him.

Sans's grin tightens. Papyrus waves a hand dismissively. "So?? I Don't Fucking Care Who The Thief Was. Tell The Ivren We'll Have The Food Ready In A Day."

Se'Vir glances at you with an unreadable look, then turns back to the ivren and gives Papyrus's response. 

The ivren squawks in reply, "Two hours!"

Suzy snaps, rising from her console, "We can't get it all in that time!"

"Too bad, you won't give us the thief, so you either give food or die!"

Suzy glares at you. "Give them the data-cube back, maybe they'll be lenient." She orders.

"No, they'll want to kill me!" You snap back. "I just lied to them!"

The ivren clicks her beak threateningly. "You lied??" She hisses. "Do you think I'm an idiot??"

The words freeze over your mind, the same words the other ivren said before attacking. Suzy and you both spoke in Ivren, whether by accident or Suzy's intention, you're not sure. "N-no." You stammer. "I- I'll get the data-cube and then-"

"And then you will hand yourself over with it." The ivren orders. "Do that and your fleet only has to pay ten tons of food within a day. Otherwise, you all die for _lying_."

You shrink into your seat. Suzy glares at the ivren. Se'Vir stammers uncertainly, glancing between you and Papyrus. Your fate has practically been decided for you.

"Sir-" You get up, feeling sick with fear. "Sir, can I get the datacube?"

"Go ahead." Papyrus replies, dismissing you with a wave. He doesn't know the ivren's demand. You walk out, scared that Se'Vir or Suzy will stop you, breaking down inside. Your worthless life is a small price to pay in exchange for the lives of everyone in the fleet. But if you run away- if you run away, maybe they can just beg for the previous tribute of fifteen tons of food.

You retrieve the data-cube from Papyrus's quarters and then find Wendi. "H-hey," You say, guilt gnawing at your stomach as you clutch your hand over it like you're going to be sick. "Can you take this up to the bridge? Tell them I'm sorry."

"Why?" Wendi asks.

"I- I feel like throwing up." You admit.

"Ew, get away from me!" She cries, snatching the data-cube away. "Sure, I'll do it, get out of here before you make me sick."

"Thanks," You mumble, unable to meet her eyes.

"Anytime, Ensign." She says, the use of your title making you flinch. You're abandoning everyone again. You wait a moment before sneaking into the ants' nests and heading to the hangar.

You're not brave. You're still just a coward. Tears choke in your throat and nose as you collapse in painful sobbing right before you reach the hangar. Time is of the essence, since your lies will be revealed as soon as Wendi reports to the bridge. But you can't move, shaking and weeping, terrified to move forward and leave everyone to their deaths, but terrified as well to be given over to the ivren to be tortured and killed.

Then you get up, your tears dry as you've exhausted them and your eyes burning. You have a choice. Forward or backward. Face the music or run away without a second thought.

Hanging your head, you make up your mind and move in the direction of your chosen fate. Maybe karma will ignore your crimes a little longer.

* * *

Starma Wendi enters the bridge and hands Papyrus a cube. "Ensign Ryuk told me to tell you they're sorry. They looked pretty ill, I hope it's not contagious." She says. 

"I See." Papyrus growls, irritated, panicking, and trying to ignore the hurt deep down. Ryuk just abandoned him again, and Se'Vir and Suzy told him of the mistake in negotiations _after_ they left the bridge. "Thank you, Starma, you are dismissed." She salutes and leaves. Papyrus scowls at Se'Vir and Suzy. "If You'd All _Been More Careful_, This Wouldn't Have Happened!" He snaps.

"They doomed us all again!" Suzy snarls.

"No, They're Just Being An Idiot." Papyrus says, pissed with Ryuk despite his defense. The vise around his chest tightens mercilessly as he tries to breathe and stay calm. "You _Know_ We Have The-"

"It's not ready yet, sir! They're going to kill us!"

"So _Stall Them_!!" Papyrus exclaims, throwing his hands in the air. One hand falls back to clench in the comforting ragged silk of his scarf. "Sans, Go Find Ryuk And Stop Them From Doing Anything Stupid." Sending Sans is probably a bad idea, he realizes belatedly.

"okay." Sans shortcuts away before Papyrus can change his mind.

"Tell Them We Can Give Them Food And The Datacube, But We Refuse To Give Them The Thief." Papyrus says. "If They Still Threaten To Kill Us, Offer Tech As Well."

"Yes, sir." Se'Vir says. It's a bluff, of course, he just needs to give Cuina more time.

Anger boils in Papyrus's bones as he breathes in and out, absorbing the residual magic in the atmosphere. He can't believe his officers were so clumsy, especially Suzy and Se'Vir. Ryuk's bumbling wasn't much of a surprise, despite the sting of disappointment it caused. He clenches his fists, counting to ten. The Ivren can't be defeated by sheer strength. He's never had to submit to an enemy before, and the new humbling feeling irritates him. It's true he was defeated by Frisk, but, well, she never humiliated him further by offering quarter in return for tribute.

"Suzy-" Papyrus starts to give an order to check on Cuina again, then stops short as the entrance of the bridge opens.

Ryuk stands there, trembling, head ducked and eyes locked on the floor. Relief douses Papyrus's anger. They take one shaky step inside. "t-told you." They mumble. "'m not brave. y-you should just- just give me to the ivren."

Papyrus crosses his arms sternly, trying to scowl at them and pretend he's not proud. But he gives up on that endeavor and crosses the room to them in two long strides, then grabs their hand. "I'm Not Going To." He says. "Because You _Didn't_." They glance up with hope in their watery eyes. "Get Back To Your Station. I Hope You're Not Going To Be Sick In Here."

"Y-yes, sir." Ryuk hiccups. "It- it won't h-happen again."

"See That It Doesn't." Papyrus replies, giving their head a stern rebuking pat. They nod quickly.

The ivren warbles angrily and they flinch. "I'm Going To Rebuke All Three Of You For Your Careless Bumbling _Later_." Papyrus says. "For Now, Get Back To Your Station, Ryuk, And Check On Cuina's Progress." They might as well find out about the experimental tech Cuina has been installing.

Sans comes back, "sorry, papaya, i couldn't find them."

Ryuk ducks down in their seat. "Really?" Papyrus says, trying to restrain the unaccountable bubbles of cheer in his ribs- _they came back_. "No Need To Look, Sans, They Never Left."

Sans glances to Ryuk. "oh, okay. hey, kid."

"H-heya." They say nervously.

"lucky you came back, or i woulda had to do more work. hey, papaya, we done here?"

"As Soon As The Cloak Is Ready, Yes."

"great, cause i have a couch calling my name." Sans winks.

"Wonderful." Papyrus replies. "Help Se'Vir stall them. And Ryuk, I gave you an order, _follow it_ instead of letting yourself get distracted."

* * *

Tonton stretches his legs out as Cuina chatters to him from atop the fusion core. "Darling," He says to the old tyrant sulking in the corner, "Do be a dear and give me that wrench. Cuina needs it."

Asgore looks up with a dull glower. "Get it yourself." He rumbles. "I'm busy."

"Busy doing what, brooding? You can do that as you help with the wiring, doll."

"Don't you know who I am?" Asgore snarls dully.

"Darling, I know _everyone_. You're not special." Tonton retorts. "Now get that wrench."

Asgore huffs and stands up, snatching the wrench from the ground. He throws it at Tonton, who catches it before it can smash into his torso. "I'm not in the mood!" The tyrant snaps.

"Come here." Tonton beckons with stern flamboyance.

"Why should I??" Asgore says petulantly.

"Because there's two ways you can learn your lesson, darling. It's your choice. Come here and assist Cuina and I, or stay there and be electrocuted when the current powers on."

"What current??"

"Do you see the wires, doll?" Tonton says, using the last vestiges of his patience. "That current."

Asgore frowns and Tonton wonders if the old king even knows what a current is. "Very well." Asgore moves.

Tonton sighs. Cuina squawks down to him, "Get the wiring!"

"Yes, dearest." Tonton replies. "Doll, you're going to have to move."

"Again??" Asgore growls.

"You know, doll, you should really come to counseling one of these days. It might do _wonders_ for your personality."

"Are you saying there's something wrong with me??" Asgore bellows. "How dare you!!" The tyrant takes a menacing step forward, then is bound in place by a purple chirp from Cuina.

"Yes, doll. There's a great deal wrong. For one, you're too quick to violence as an answer. You ought to try talking your way out some time. Like now, perhaps. Convince Cuina to let you go."

Asgore grumbles. "Fine. Cuina, let me go or I'll blast the engine to- AGH!" He yelps as the bindings tighten.

Tonton pats his head patronizingly. "Without threats. I'll give you a hint, darling, say_ please _and_ sorry_."

Asgore glowers. "I'm your king!"

"I'm my own king, darling." Tonton says. "I don't believe a single person in this fleet would follow you."

Asgore clenches his fists. "Please let me go." He growls. "I'm _sorry_." Cuina releases him and he storms away to sulk elsewhere.

"Ready to activate the cloak, darling?" Tonton asks Cuina, who leaps down and nuzzles him with kis beak. "Shall we notify the bridge?"

* * *

Papyrus stares at the screen Luon connected to the Ivren datacube. "TURN IT OFF!!" He cries after only a moment, then snatches the datacube and turns to Ryuk, whose snickering dies as they look at him and see his expression. "YOU _RISKED OUR LIVES_. FOR _GODDAMN PORN_."

"I didn't _know_ it was porn," They defend with a slight chuckle. "Can I keep it?"

"NO, WE'RE DESTROYING IT, ISN'T THAT RIGHT, LUON??" The sounds alone were horrendous.

"Yes, quite right," Luon snatches it away.

Ryuk tries to pout but is too busy trying not to laugh to have any success at either. Papyrus growls. "Extra Training For You."

"Aww, man." They grin. "I have to stare at your adorable scowl more? Such cruelty."

Papyrus puffs up to retort, but the praise weakens his soul. "Y-Yes, Well, I Am The Most Adorably Cruel Person You Will Ever Have The Pleasure Of Meeting!! Nyeh Heh Heh!"


	19. The Door Can Be Opened Again

As you slip from stance to stance fluidly, the haladie in your hand slashes and thrusts as easily as though it were another limb. Sweat drips down your sides, nearly throwing you off your movements with the disgust that fills your throat. This adani body irritates you, like it's not the right shape for your soul. The haladie calms your emotions, though, giving you an aspect of control. If only it didn't require death to become physical- however, knowing Papyrus a bit better now, you're wondering if there's another way.

"Well Done." Papyrus says, standing to the side. Bracken's not here today, since he's in the brig for getting drunk and trying to fight the security team sent to subdue him.

"Thanks, sir." You grin at him, spinning the haladie in your fingers. Leap at him. His talwar appears in his hand and he deflects your first strike. Then you spin the haladie around and try to get him with the second blade. But he twists to the side and taps your ribs with the flat of his blade, smirking.

"Nyeh Heh Heh, You're Getting Better! All Thanks To Me, Of Course." He preens, side-eyeing you haughtily. "The Best Teacher In The Cosmos!!"

"Nyee hee hee, oh, I'm so awesome and great, I fart sparkles!" You say in a reedy voice to match his own.

"ARE YOU _MOCKING_ ME??" He cries. "Insolent Scoundrel. I Don't Think You Deserve Such A Great Weapon."

"Noooo!" You whine. "I take it back, you're not awesome or great, and you prolly fart spikes!!"

"AGH!!" He staggers back, a fist to his chest. "Alright, That's It!! Hand It Over!!"

You pout at him, but hand the haladie back with a longing pat to the hilt. "Are you coming to MK and Luon's _actual_ bonding feast today?" You ask. "MK wants to fight you and Undyne."

"At Once??" He replies, smirking.

"Duh. We'll be in teams, though. You and Undyne on one, me, Luon, and Mil-Gwedh on the other."

"Perhaps. We'll have to see what Undyne says." Papyrus says. "But maybe switch it up. Undyne should be on MK and Luon's team, while you and perhaps Tonton should be on mine."

You grin. "I can ask MK about that. The losers have to play truth or dare, though." The fleet is on its way back to the Vaux, staying cloaked for as long as the ships can spare the energy, and every ship is holding celebrations for escaping the Ivren. MK and Luon decided they wanted to have a sparring-themed party, with the added bonus of an immature game- which is totally something you can get behind.

Papyrus chuckles. "And MK thinks he can beat two of the most powerful sedryn in the fleet?"

"With Luon and me, yeah." You reply airily. "But, uh, about the haladie-"

"It won't count if you beat me with Luon and MK's help." Replies Papyrus. "Not that you _could_, nyeh heh, but even so."

"Not that, I figured as much, but- doesn't making magic physical take- d-dust and blood?" Alphys told you that, you remember with a twinge of grief for her death. 

Papyrus cackles arrogantly. "That's The _Common_ And _Vulgar_ Spell." He says. "Sans And I Figured Out An Easier Way, Because He's Lazy."

"How?" You wheedle for information, relieved to hear him confirm it.

"Dust is only the representation of spiritual life, while blood is the representation of corporeal life, while willpower fuses them together." Papyrus explains. "So Sans and I found out we could use substitutions. That's why we both have so many, and we can make more easily. Sans uses ground goat horns for the spiritual side, and wood shavings for the corporeal side. I bless water, preferably from a sea, for use as the spiritual side, and I use moss for the corporeal side. It's all about symbolism, really. Any sedryn can make up their own spell for it, they just fell into thinking it was the _only_ way when Asgore was ruling over us."

You nod, listening intently. "Where will you get the water and moss?"

He puffs up and retorts, "Assuming A Little Too Much, Aren't You, Ensign. You're Not Likely To Land A Hit On Me Any Time Soon."

"Assume with me, bitch!!" You whine. "If I _did_, how would you do it?"

"I Have Some Stockpiled." He replies, huffing.

"Cool." You smirk at him, hiding how glad you are that your future haladie won't require any murders to become real. "MK told me to get info on you, and now I have all I need, muahaha."

"I See You're A Dirty Rat, Pretending To Be Interested, But Really You Just Wanted Me To Give Up All My Secrets So MK Can Defeat Me!! Nyeh Heh Heh, But That Won't Be Happening Any Time Soon." Papyrus crows.

"Damn it!!" You cry, striking your chest with your fist. "Foiled again!!"

Papyrus shakes his head. "Drama Queen." 

"_You're_ a drama queen." You retort. He blushes and you smirk at him. "Aww, you like being called a queen, queenie poo?"

"Sh-Shut Up!!" He cries.

"Okay, bitch. Chill. I won't call you a queen unless you ask me nicely." You nod firmly. "Unless you're acting like a pregnant cat- so actually, nevermind, you're gonna be called queen from now on."

He scowls at you, or rather he attempts to, but a hint of weird fondness peeks through the annoyance. "I'm Not A Pregnant Cat!!"

"I said you _act_ like one, bitch. You know, always so angry and yowl-y and- _eep!_" You yelp and duck as he snatches for your collar. "Wait!" Papyrus catches you, who cowers under his glower. "Heh heh- did I say angry? I meant merciful- sooo merciful, and magnanimous, and _cute_\- oh, wait."

"You Are Impossible." He retorts. "What Am I Supposed To Do With You??"

"Uhh." You say, your mind filling with multiple scenarios. "Fuck me?"

Papyrus drops you like your words burned him. You're almost offended, if you didn't already know this adani body is squishy and annoying. Well, you're at least thicc and maybe even attractive by adani standards, but that isn't saying much on a galactic scale. You're certainly not as hot as a dragon. "NYEH!! SUCH CRUDE HUMOR IS NOT FUNNY!!" He cries, stomping one foot.

You weren't _exactly_ joking, you would have rolled with it if he were interested, as you've done with multiple other star-mates before, but whatever. You're trying to not think about the obvious reason he would never want to do anything like that with you, or even be your friend. "Did you ever fuck Dexi?" You ask, desperate to think of anything else. "Just wondering if anybody has managed to get that cactus out of your ass yet."

He blushes violently. "No!! And Even If I Did, I Wouldn't Tell Anybody!! ALSO I DO NOT HAVE A CACTUS- NNNNYEH!!"

"Aww, does cactus-butt feel all spiky and edgy?"

"FINE, _YES_, I HAVE A SHORT FUSE. _BITE ME_!!" He shrieks. 

You smirk, teasing him mercilessly to hide your hurt. "Is that consent, cactus-butt?"

He stares at you for a moment, his skull darkening. "_NNNNHHHH_!!!" He screeches and throws up his hands. "_INCORRIGIBLE_!! I WISH UNDYNE WERE HERE SO SHE COULD-" He stops short, looking away.

"What happened?" You ask carefully. You know the look of guilt on his face, like he feels he'll never have the same camaraderie with her again after what he's done.

"I- I Used Something On Her I Swore I'd Never Use Again." He growls. "BUT ANYWAY!! YOU ARE NOT GETTING AWAY WITH YOUR INSOLENCE!!" He holds out your haladie again. "FIGHT ME!!"

You outwardly groan, but inwardly are delighted that you get to hold your favorite weapon more. You're going to lose again, but you're getting better.

* * *

Papyrus heads back to the bridge after defeating Ryuk once more, which is hardly a feat requiring any great strength or skill other than a proper weapon, although they are improving. Ensign Ryuk tags along, their duties lessened now that he's had Esther rearrange their schedule; so they now have more time to watch _him_ work, apparently. He glides across the ladder through the connector tube to the and remembers with a conflicted twinge of minor guilt and greater amusement the first time he met Ryuk. Guilt because he was rather unfairly churlish to them. Amusement because, despite being a stowaway, they were still just as much an insolent ass then as they are now to him. Resilience is something they seem to have in abundance.

Esther salutes him as he steps into the bridge. He replies with the traditional, "At ease," and she drops it. He's heard the captains of the other ships have been growing lax on protocol. But the _Liltha_ needs to set the example. He sits in his seat and opens up the scanner and maps with a flick of his hand. Ryuk leans on the back of his chair and watches. "What, are you planning to steal my position?" He asks wryly.

"Yup." They reply. "Hey, does it hurt?"

"Does what hurt??"

"Sitting on that cac-" His skull whips around to glare at them and they shut up with a small giggling, "_eep_!"

"Insolent Scoundrel." He growls, turning back to his work. "Go Help Esther; Do _Something_ Useful."

"Okay, okay." Ryuk says. Esther gives Papyrus a weird look. He's not sure if it's amused or if she's trying to tell him to rebuke them, but his skull heats anyway.

"And Reply With The Proper Protocol!!" He cries.

"Oh, right. Yessiree, I will be so useful!" They prance over to Esther. "Gimme work!"

"You're In An Irritatingly Good Mood." He grumbles, tired out after a long day of meetings and training.

"_You're_ just jealous." Ryuk retorts, and then sits down by Esther, whispering with her.

Papyrus huffs, realizing too late that pairing Ryuk with Esther is only asking for trouble, much like pairing Ryuk with Bracken. Or Ryuk with Sans. Wait. Since when is pairing Ryuk with _anyone_ a safe option?? It seems to Papyrus that they're an influence of mischief on everyone they meet. He himself would probably be the safest person to pair them with, since he won't be so easily swayed by their rascally ideas and insolent tongue. He shakes his head, annoyed that he's thinking about them when he's supposed to be working.

The fleet has been taking a roundabout way back to the Vaux so that the Ivren lose them for good, since Papyrus doesn't want to take any risks. The helmsman on shift takes the ship out of warp and flips the ship so the engines burn to slow it down on a trajectory to a nearby M-class planet, where the fleet will restock and refuel. Maybe they'll even get some time to rest, too. Papyrus has been discussing with the captains about the potential eventuality of everyone being stuck in the Andromeda galaxy and never getting to return home. It's an unpleasant thought, since he knows a lot of his crews have homes back in the Milky Way, and it would mean his dead starmas are dead for good, which he's unwilling to accept.

Papyrus finds his gaze drawn discreetly back to Ensign Ryuk as they giggle with Lieutenant Esther about something. Unthreatening is certainly one word to describe them. _Adorable_ might be another. But they're a troublemaker, even if they are trying to be brave and even if they are succeeding. He wonders briefly what it would be like if they weren't a subordinate officer- if-- perhaps in some alternate universe where neither is enlisted and expected to be professional-- they could have been his friend.

He shakes his head to dispel the random musings. Then considers it again. He's not under the thumb of the chancellors anymore, and he might as well try to make the most of this timeline before he gets back to the Milky Way and Frisk resets. He looks down at his work. MK and Luon's party is in an hour. Ryuk is an insolent scoundrel, to be sure, but, well, maybe there's just something refreshing about them talking back to him and calling him out on his shit.

An hour later, he stands up, closing his work down. "Ensign Ryuk," He calls. "Accompany me."

"Yessir!" They skip up and prance over to him, then follow him down the halls. "Hey, queen," Papyrus blushes at the weirdly pleasing nickname, "Are you gonna fight MK?"

"Of course!! And I'm going to win, too!!" Papyrus crows.

"I called MK a bit ago. Tonton refused to join, so I think it's just me and you against Undyne, MK, and Luon."

"Watch out for Luon." Papyrus says, falling into a strategizing mode as though the opposing team were an enemy to be defeated. "He doesn't use magic, but he's pure hell when he gets going with a rapier. Don't go for Undyne's blind spot or she will rip you apart. And MK is more dangerous than you might think, since you've beaten him once. You've never face him at full power, though, and he was using lousy tactics that time, out of practice. I'll keep Undyne's and MK's attention on me. You focus on getting Luon down as soon as possible; he takes a few seconds to get into a rhythm, but once he does, it's over."

"Woah." Ryuk blinks, dazed. "Lots of data, there, dude."

"Nyeh Heh Heh, We Can Defeat Them!!" Papyrus crows and steps inside the room of the party. "Since I'm The Great- Papyrus-"

Undyne glowers at him from across the room, her baby Ross tugging at a harness-leash. Papyrus has a moment to regret his recent words before Undyne hands Ross to Tonton and then strides into the empty ring in the center of the room. "Face me, fu- jerk." She growls. Papyrus would be amused at her censoring herself for her baby if he weren't so conflicted to see her.

"Undyne." He nods to her.

MK and Luon come up together, MK grinning and waving his tail cheerfully, and Luon sniffing the air with his fangs drawn. "Yo, Papyrus, you made it!! Gonna face us??"

"I Did Agree To That, Didn't I." Papyrus says ruefully.

"Losers have to play Truth or Dare!!" MK cries happily.

Papyrus sighs. "I dare you to grow up."

MK scowls. "That's not how you play, yo, and besides, I didn't lose!"

"Yet." Ryuk comes to Papyrus's support.

Papyrus nods emphatically. "True!! Keyword Being _Yet_."

"Yo, who's your third?"

"Nobody." Papyrus says.

"I mean, I could always ask mom for a clone." Ryuk says drily, with a hint of bitterness.

"Dear Rifli, Spare Us All!" Papyrus cries in mock horror. "I Think It Might Be Better If _I _Were To Be Cloned, Since I At Least Have High Standards!!"

"Right." They say like they're pretending to believe him. "Two cactus-butts walking around, _that_ won't cause any trouble at all."

Papyrus tries to school his jaws into a scowl unsuccessfully and settles for a glower, his cheekbones heating mercilessly in embarrassment. He's not sure he could control his volume if he speaks, and he doesn't want to draw attention to the banter, so he stays silent.

MK, however, guffaws, which breaks Papyrus. "D-DON'T CALL ME THAT!!" He snaps.

"Oops, sorry, queen." Ryuk replies smoothly. MK looks confused and Papyrus desperately hopes he doesn't investigate.

"Yo, why queen?? Wouldn't king work better?" MK asks, innocently ignorant of the stab and subsequent deflation of Papyrus's cheer.

"IT'S FINE!!" He cries.

"Pregnant cat." Ryuk says sagely and he's weirdly thankful that they have such a dumb Ryuk-esque explanation. He pats their head and they purr for a moment, then bounce, dislodging his hand, as they say, "Hey, can I have my haladie?"

"It's Not Yours." Papyrus forms the magic attack anyway and hands it to them.

"_Yet_." They mutter, then take it and leap into the circle. Papyrus follows them.

Undyne draws a spear, MK draws a much simpler and more practical scimitar instead of a morning star, and Luon has a rapier sheathed by his side. Papyrus cackles, slipping into a grounded stance with a magical version of his talwar in his hand. Ryuk does the same beside him. He taps their shoulder and hands them a dirk to sheathe in their belt. "Just in case you need it." He says.

They nod and growl, baring their teeth at MK, who growls back. Papyrus hopes they remember the strategy instead of just doing whatever they feel like.

Tonton, the referee, calls, "Ready, darlings? Start!"

Undyne moves fast, almost too fast to see, but Papyrus manages to deflect her spear and then parry MK's scimitar in quick succession. He ducks Undyne's next strike and slips beneath her reach, slashing across her chest. She stares at him, aghast, but he doesn't have time to crow as MK comes at him with renewed fury. Scimitar and talwar clang as each deflects the other.

MK pants and withdraws for a moment, switching his grip and drawing a dagger with his blue magic. Papyrus stays aware of Luon. Ryuk allowed him to get momentum and now they're being forced back as they're barely able to block the blows. They won't last long, and then he'll have to take both Luon and MK at once. _Or_. "Ryuk, Switch." He orders as they back against him, then spins them to face MK as he parries Luon's rapier.

Luon can sense the intent in Papyrus's magic attack, so it's useless to try to use the officer's blindness against him. If he were using his physical talwar, it would be an entirely different matter. As it is, Papyrus can barely keep up. Luon's been training. He has a different schedule than Papyrus and Ryuk, so the practices never overlap, but it's clear Luon has been keeping in shape. Ryuk yelps behind him and Papyrus has to turn and back away as MK comes for him, joining Luon in the onslaught. He manages to get Luon out as the amlyg is distracted by MK's presence beside him, but MK uses the opening to catch Papyrus on the ribs.

The loss to his former apprentice stings his pride and he huffs, dissipating his talwar. He can't help but be proud of MK at the same time that his own ego is wounded, though. "Good Work." He says. Undyne glares at him. "What??"

"That was a stinking sneaky thing you did!" She cries. "Yeah, you fight dirty, but you never throw away a good battle, punk!!"

"I was trying to win." Papyrus says tersely. "Or have you forgotten, there were three on two."

"Fuhuhu, we're having a rematch- later!!" Undyne tacks on the last word as a concession to MK's scowl. "And I want you to come at me with all the sneakiness you've got, don't hold back, I'll still whip you!!"

Papyrus smirks. "Wonderful."

MK stomps up, grinning wickedly. "Alright, yo, time for the truth or dare!!"

Papyrus's smirk disappears. Ryuk hops up to him. "Okay!"

"Each member of the winning team gives a question to each loser, and the loser has to answer honestly or do a dare." MK says. The other starmas and officers gather around. Papyrus is used to scrutiny, but this is still embarrassing.

"I'll go first, punks!" Undyne cries. "Papyrus." She grins, baring her shark-teeth. "Who would you fuck?"

Papyrus's skull heats with mortification. "N-NOBODY!!" He cries, irritated that she comes up with the most embarrassing question first. It's revenge, he knows, but still.

Undyne guffaws. "Liar!! You gotta answer honestly!"

"_YOU_, THEN." He snaps.

Undyne bares her teeth. "Aww, you wanna be my waifu again?"

"I Never Said That, I Said _Fuck You._" Papyrus smirks.

"NGAH, fine, I'll whip your ass later." Undyne scoffs and turns to Ryuk. "Squirt, what's in your pants?"

"Love." Ryuk replies with a straight face.

"NGAAHHH!! No, what junk do you have??"

Papyrus huffs and facepalms. Ryuk, still completely wry, says, "Depends."

"On what??"

"On whether I've killed myself yet or not."

MK snorts. Papyrus frowns in confusion. He knows Ryuk is just trolling Undyne, but they're not lying either. However, it's not like he cares.

"Ugh, fine!!" Undyne cries. "Luon, your turn."

"Have you been having sex with Ryuk?" Luon asks Papyrus.

"_NO, _I HAVE NOT!!" Papyrus replies emphatically, glad for the chance to clear his reputation slightly.

"_yet_." Ryuk mutters under their breath, then '_eep'_s again as Papyrus glowers at them.

"Ensign, did you mean to lead your group into a death trap, or did you not know where you were going?" Luon says and the room goes tense as Ryuk freezes. Papyrus huffs in the silence.

They finally say, "Uhhh- dare?"

"Let someone slap you."

Ryuk glances to Papyrus for a split second. Then they go up to MK. "You're my dare." They say.

MK laughs, breaking the tension somewhat, "Yo, sure." He taps their cheek with his hand and Ryuk makes a show of staggering back.

MK then turns to Papyrus. "Yo, do you have a dick?"

"DARE!!" Papyrus cries, flustering and trying to push away the feelings of shittiness and disgust at the thought of having a _thing_ like that.

"Kiss Ryuk, yo."

"Hey, Mil-Gwedh, be nice, he doesn't want to kiss me." Ryuk scolds.

"It's not supposed to be nice, it's a cruel game, yo." MK retorts.

"FINE." Papyrus huffs and bumps his jaws to Ryuk's scar-pocked brow.

"Ryuk, tell us what you think of Papyrus." MK smirks. Papyrus facepalms, ready for a scathing rundown of all the ways he sucks.

"He- uh, he's great." Ryuk mumbles, face darkening with their blush.

"More detail, yo!"

Ryuk makes a rude gesture, but they continue after MK scowls at them. "He's merciful." They say, refusing to look at Papyrus. "An asshole sometimes, but he's trying to control his emotions. So- so yeah, he's pretty amazing."

Papyrus coughs into his hands to hide his heating skull. MK smirks. "Yo, now you two do each other."

Ryuk glances at Papyrus. "Uh, what's your favorite food?"

"Oatmeal." He says, thankful for a regular un-intrusive question. "What's yours?"

"I'll eat just about anyone." They say. It takes a moment for the joke to sink in, then Papyrus screeches and bats their head.

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!"

"Is too!!" They protest, giggling.

"UGH, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SOMETIMES!!" He cries.

"Hey, I can even eat that cactus for you, if you want." They tease.

He shrieks furiously. "STOP IT WITH THE CACTUS JOKES OR I'M RESCINDING MY FRIENDSHIP!!" Ryuk chokes, coughing, so he pats their back. "And stop choking on air, for Rifli's sake."

"Y-yeah." They stammer. "Uh. Heh."

MK and Luon have already wandered off together, while Undyne drags Papyrus off to the gym to fight her for real. Ryuk doesn't tag along, instead staying at the party and chatting with Tonton about the merits of having wings.

Undyne glares at Papyrus across from the gym arena. "You better be prepared, punk." She growls.

"Undyne, I Apologize." He replies. "I apologize for what I did to you, and I apologize for beating you this time."

"FUHUHU, bit preemptive of you, punk!! You haven't beat me yet!!" Undyne responds.

The two slip into combat without a signal. Undyne's great-sword swooshes down and Papyrus ducks it, but Undyne twists to avoid his talwar, wary to the trick this time. Papyrus is forced to roll away as Undyne brings the sword back around for another strike.

He deflects it with his talwar and then dodges around to her right side. Many people think she's less aware of her left side because of the eye-patch, but it's actually the other way around. Alphys fixed the eyepatch a long time ago to make it so Undyne can see out of that eye, but she's had blurrier vision in her right eye ever since Asgore punched her in the face with a fireball.

Undyne growls and circles, her eye darting about wildly. She spots him and thrusts with her great-sword. Papyrus grins and jumps onto the flat of the blade, leaping as she twists it and somersaulting so that his legs lock around Undyne's neck and his talwar presses against the small of her back. "I Win!!" He crows. The great-sword clatters to the floor.

"NGAAAHHHH!!" She screams in frustration. "When did you get so sneaky??"

Papyrus frowns. He's always used deceit in battles, always fought dirty, since he had to as a gutter rat, but this particular tactic of focusing on winning above all else was beaten out of him by Undyne, who preferred the thrill of battle. It only resurfaced recently. "I've Always Been Sneaky." He replies.

"UGH." She cries. "Fine, you're forgiven, AND you can keep your starsdamned fleet, okay??"

"Thank You."

"And I'll be joining you and the squirt for practice tomorrow, so you better be prepared!!" She cries. 

Papyrus nods, exhausted from his long day. He heads back to the bridge to check on things. The shift change went smoothly, everything is fine, and they're still five days out from the routed M-class planet. There's a green nebula growing closer in the distance, but it's not quite in the route, so they probably can't explore it.

"Send A Couple Drones To Check Out The Nebula." He orders with a wave of his hand. The science officer on duty salutes.

Papyrus stumbles back into his quarters and collapses in his bed. Ryuk wakes him from a bad dream when they enter a few hours later, bumping into everything. He ignores them and tries to go back to sleep. A weight flops onto the bed beside him. "RYUK, FOR THE LOVE OF RIFLI, THIS IS NOT YOURS!!" He cries tiredly and shoves them off with his feet.

They whine, either too sleepy or drunk to comprehend his irritation. "Cozyyy."

"UGH!! YOU HAVE A COZY NEST IN THE CLOSET, SO GO _USE IT_ INSTEAD OF TRYING TO STEAL MINE!!"

"Naaaahhh." They hum.They sound drunk, too. He'll deal with that in the morning. "Here's good." They try to climb back into the bed. He shoves them off again.

"NO, _HERE_ IS NOT GOOD!!" Papyrus retorts.

"Shhh," They admonish in a miserably failing attempt to be severe. "You sleep."

"NYEEHHH!!" Papyrus retorts eloquently. He huffs as Ryuk climbs back and flops into the pillows. "FINE!! YOU TAKE IT!! SOME LOUSY FRIEND YOU ARE, STEALING MY BED." He grumbles as he rolls out and takes the blankets and pillows with him, then goes to the couch and settles onto that, falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Sans stares at the viewport as they pass the green nebula slowly crawling in their direction. It seems to roll over itself as it changes direction, coming straight for the fleet and picking up speed. "call Paps." He orders Suzy. "now."

Suzy fails to get ahold of Papyrus. Sans tells her to notify the fleet of battle stations, but he can barely hear himself speak over the growth of the ringing staticky near-white noise.

His vision starts to tunnel as the nebula grows larger and larger in the screen. It swallows the fleet whole. And then his vision goes black and he falls to the floor, asleep.


	20. Within Your Darkest Memories

A shout startles you awake, the fury in the tone making you cower under the blankets and hide your head beneath the pillow, fear trembling in your limbs. "Ar-Six, get over here _now_!!"

_Something's not righ-_ You roll out of bed and trudge out of the small spartan cell, smirking a bit because mom probably found the eggs you crushed in her latest samples.

Mom blazes in the kitchen, nearly too bright for your optical receptors. The weight of her attention pins you down, crawling over your skin. _Skin, pah, you hate_\- "Ar-Six." She says. "Explain."

You squint at her and smirk wider. "Eggs-plain what?"

Mom flares painfully bright, forcing you to look away and shield your eyes. "Ar-Six." She tuts, then her voice morphs to a screech, green-feathered wings flaring out, beating you down as you cower."_Do you think I'm an idiot?_"

"Duh!" You snarl at the ivren. It shrieks and stabs you with its beak, ripping your flesh to shreds with its claws until bright pain consumes you.

"_What am I, mom?_" "_Ar-Six, honey, you are mine._" "_Really?_" "_Forever and ever_." "_Am I human?_" ("**_HmHmHm, We're Alike, You And I._**_") "Do you want to be_?" "_I want to be a dragon!_" "_If you love me, you'll want to be my little human._"

"_Mom, what are you doing, stop, it hurts!_" "_It's for you, dear."_ "_Stop!!_" ("**_Quid Pro Quo._**_"_) "_Be quiet and trust me. Do you _**_love_**_ me, Ar-Six?_" "_No, fuck y-AAGH!!_" "_You will. Trust me, honey. You will_."

_Not real- Not real- This _**_can't_**_ be real- _("**_Foolish Little Dragon._**")

"I Can't Even Be Surprised." You blink and the random flashes of visions fall together into a staticky silhouette. "You Never Changed. You Abandoned Me Again. And I'm Not Even Disappointed."

The voice morphs again into an agonizing boom that rips through your every nerve. "**_DIE_.**" Not real. This can't be real. You're falling and the wind whips past you. You can't close your eyes as the sharp rocks approach and the taunting voices grow stronger. **_This isn't real_**.

Scaly webbed wings bloom from your arms, your bone structure shifting to a sturdier wyvern-esque form. A long tail whips around as your beating wings slow your fall until you're soaring. A roar rips from your lungs as you fly up, higher, higher, until you shatter through the ceiling of your dream.

A scream echoes through the new dream, dark snow-covered cliffs leading down into coniferous forests. You wing your way towards the source of the cry, then see Papyrus. You drop to the ground lightly, the snow crunching cold around your talons. Crawling up nervously to him, you hiss at the blood on his talwar. He turns to you and raises the sabre. His sockets are blank and lifeless, so distanced from the ironically vivid and expressive fire they usually hold.

"H-hey-" You stammer, backing away as he goes into stance. Then you're forced to leap away from the downward slash of the talwar.

"YOU." His voice is ragged and devoid of intonation. "PERISH."

"Hey!!" You yelp. "It's me, Ryuk!! Don't kill me!!"

"SHOULD I CARE WHAT YOUR NAME IS."

You duck and weave away as he continues to slash at you. His movements are jerking and slow, easily avoidable. "Stop it, Papyrus!" You cry as you're backed into a cliff without room to leap in the air.

He flinches _hard_ at the name and his talwar falters. "D-DON'T-" He cries.

"Cactus-butt, snap out of it!!" You take the opening and leap at him, knocking the talwar out of his hand and pinning him to the ground. He stares up at you with blank pain in his sockets. "This is a dream! You're okay!"

"PERISH."

You growl at him, frustrated. "Why??"

He blinks at you, a hint of confusion furrowing his bony brow. "B-BECAUSE-" He stammers. "I- I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE."

"Can't do what?"

"_PROTECT_ EVERYONE!!" He cries. Now the fire is back, blazing from his sockets like fury and fear, and his form flickers like he's trying to morph. "WE BARELY ESCAPED FROM THE IVREN, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL EVER GET A WAY BACK HOME, AND- AND I CAN'T KEEP PRETENDING LIKE THIS!!"

"So stop pretending, asshole." You reply. "Just be you, and everyone better be cool with that, or I'll fight them- and then get beat up, so nevermind, maybe you'd better fight them yourself."

He lets out a sharp laugh, rattling as his form still struggles to resolve. "BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM??" He says it like he's demanding an answer.

"Duh." You boop his forehead with a wing-claw. "Nobody does. You gotta figure it out yourself, queen."

He goes limp, settling back into one form again. "Can- Can You Get Off Of Me Now??"

"Are you going to attack me again??"

"No." He grumbles.

You hop off of him and kick the talwar farther away. He glares at you, so you retort, "What?? It may be a dream, but death still freaking hurts."

"Hmph. More Like A Nightmare." He grunts, getting to his feet. "Besides, You're Not Real, So It Wouldn't Hurt You."

"Uh, nah, I'm totally real. We're dream-sharing, or something. Didn't know sedryn could do that, though. Thought it was only aggelos."

"We can't." Papyrus replies, confused.

"Dude, you're joking, right? We're sleeping in the same room, maybe you accidentally shared with me?"

"No?? I've heard some people can do it, but I've never been able to." He's blushing for some reason, looking away. You can't remember even going back to his room, you just remember getting drunk with MK. Right, that's going to get you in trouble when you wake up, isn't it.

But something's off. You both had terrible nightmares at the same time and now seem to be dream-sharing, but _how_ is the question. "Come on." You say. "Let's see if we can get out of this dream, the blood is spooking me."

Papyrus nods in terse agreement. You leap up into the air and grab his ribcage in your talons. He shouts something at you, but you don't hear it, too busy flying up and up until you burst through the ceiling into a cold golden hall.

"Shit." Papyrus says. "This Is Judgement Hall."

"Huh?"

"Set Me Down." He orders. You flap quickly and drop him from a few feet in the air. He lands kneeling cat-like and you drop down after him, following carefully. "Sans? Undyne?" He calls carefully.

"so."

"Sans, You're Here!!" Papyrus cries and runs forward. You bound after him, hoping the truce extends to a shared dream.

"you've, uh, been real busy, huh."

"Sans??" Papyrus stops short and you nearly crash into him. "You're Dreaming, Sans! Wake Up!"

"you didn't spare my bro. so why should i spare you." Sans growls, sockets void of his usual bright pupils. You flinch back, cowering behind Papyrus.

"I'M RIGHT HERE!!" Papyrus cries, seeming peeved.

"wh- oh. hey, bro." Sans relaxes, pupils reappearing. "dreaming, huh. clever trap."

"WHAT??"

"we're in a trap, bro. it looked like a nebula, but it chased us down and swallowed the whole fleet. i went unconscious as soon as it hit us, so i'm assuming everyone else did too."

Papyrus grinds his teeth audibly.. "What about queenie-poo?" You offer to Sans. Papyrus chokes but doesn't speak.

"too many syllables." Sans shoots that down.

"Ass."

"are you really sure you want to suggest I call my amazing wonderful bro an ass?"

"No, _you_." You retort.

"granted." He shrugs with a wink.

"_SANS_." Papyrus nearly spits the elder's name, and then your own is given the same treatment, "_RYUK_." He pauses until you and Sans both give him attention. "WE ARE IN A TRAP, POSSIBLY DEADLY. AND YOU TWO DUMBASSES ARE- _BANTERING_??"

"Well, yeah, how else would we keep from panicking??" You reply. "Asshole."

Papyrus stares at you for a moment like he's not sure whether to shout or cry. "WOULDN'T IT BE MORE PRODUCTIVE TO _FIND A FUCKING WAY OUT??_" He finally settles on throwing his hands in the air.

"If I had my fucking cards, I could-" You stop short at the looks the two brothers give you, forcibly reminded that there's a very good reason you don't have your cards anymore. "Uh. _Not_ do anything, because- uh- I don't-" You stammer and trail off, failing to dig yourself out of the hole you created, and now unable to ignore the parallels to Skoria. "D-don't want to- get anyone killed?" You probably should have stopped while you were still on thin ice, but you're pretty sure that ice is starting to crack now.

Papyrus huffs. "Ryuk's Bumbling Aside," He says that dismissively, like he's just brushing your mistakes and unruly tongue to the side. "We Found You, Sans, So We Might Be Able To Find Others."

"okay. so- we just, do what?"

"Find The Next Dream. Find Everyone, And Then Try To Break Out." Papyrus says.

"uh. bro? one question."

"What??" Papyrus growls.

Sans gestures to Papyrus's current form. "why are you a girl?"

Papyrus blushes again. "IT'S A DREAM, I CAN'T HELP IT!! RYUK IS A GODDAMNED WYVERN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, WHY DO YOU PICK ON ME??"

"we're lucid-dreaming now, you can change to whatever."

"FINE, MAYBE I SHOULD BE A DRAGON TOO, WILL YOU STOP INTERROGATING ME THEN??" Papyrus snaps.

"ok. there's nothing wrong with dreaming you're a girl, bro, it's just weird for me to see my little bro with wide hips and such."

"UGH!! I _AM_ A GIRL, SO SHUT UP!!" Sans's pupils disappear again, his smile tightening. Papyrus freezes. "TH-THAT IS- IN MY NIGHTMARE, I WAS A GIRL, SO OBVIOUSLY I'M STILL A GIRL NOW, I JUST HAVEN'T CHANGED BACK!! BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW!! YES. THAT'S IT." Papyrus preens nervously. You frown, thinking.

You never really wanted to be a girl or a boy. Mom made you one first, then after you killed yourself and she remade you, she made you the other, and you couldn't care less. But other people care. Suzy cares, you know. She's a girl, but she had to convince people of that, had to fight for respect. N'kha, too, except the other way around since he's a boy. MK, as well, but his gender issues were resolved almost invisibly since everyone tended to focus on his disability first. "You can be a girl." You tell Papyrus. "It's fine."

"what?? no, Paps ain't a girl." Sans snaps. "right?? i've known my amazing strong masculine bro ever since he was a babybones. he ain't a stinkin' girl. girls are all dimwits, an' ya ain't that, bro."

Papyrus glowers sullenly. "N-No." They--_she?_\--finally sigh. "I Certainly Am Not A Dimwit, So Of Course, I Must Not Be A Girl."

"great. now let's get outta here, bro, this place creeps me out."

"Yes, Brother." Papyrus says dully. You glance between Sans and Papyrus, confused. Sans gives you a warning glare. Why he's warning you, and what he's warning you from doing, you're not exactly sure. So instead of listening, you leap into the air and barrel into Papyrus, knocking them off their feet and onto your back. They yelp and grab onto your spikes. "WAIT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

You roar and wing your way higher until you crash into the next dream, dark woods with mushrooms and grass everywhere. "Getting you away from your brother!" You say, setting them down. "I wanted to ask you seriously-"

"Don't." They grumble. "It- It's Fine. I'm N-Not A Girl."

"But- that stuff he said was all bullshit, you know that, right?" Papyrus doesn't look at you as you speak. "Girls aren't-"

"I know." Papyrus interrupts, sitting on a large mushroom.

"Then why go along with it??"

"Because he's my brother." They grumble.

"It's still bullshit." You mutter. "If you're a girl, you're a girl, queen, fuck whatever Sans says."

Papyrus blushes. "Well." They say it sort of like they're trying to be snappish. "I Suppose You May Use Female Pronouns For Me. As Long As You Don't Let Sans Hear It." She preens her ever-present scarf. 

"Do you want a different name, queen?" You offer. She startles at the question, looking comically surprised.

"Ugh, I Don't Know!" But she seems to be thinking about it. "I'll Try _Regina_ For Now, Since You're So Insistent." She bats your head, but fondly.

"Okay, cactus-butt." You reply, sticking your tongue out.

She screeches and bats you again. "INSOLENT!! SCOUNDREL!!" You laugh as you futilely try to defend yourself with your wings. She stops, looking nervous as she taps her fingers together. "Can I- Have A Hug?"

"Duh-" You then gasp for breath as she crushes your neck in her arms. You're dreaming, you technically shouldn't be able to suffocate, and you're a big wyvern, but- ah, the hug is kinda nice actually. You curl your wings around her and rest your head on her shoulder. "Want me to fight Sans for you?" You're bluffing, you would never fight him in a million years. Not even for her.

"NO!!" She retorts. "DON'T MENTION HIM TO ME OR I'M- I'M NOT HUGGING YOU ANYMORE!"

"Okay, Regina." Static white noise starts to fade into your awareness, growing stronger and stronger. Your vision starts to close down against your will. "Uh-"

"Thank You, Ryuk." She murmurs into your ear as she disappears into the noise and shadows. You struggle against the grip of the dream, fighting to reach for her. "But I Hope You Forget."

You wake up to mom shouting "_Ar-Six_! Get out here!" in the other room, and you try to remember what it is you've done this time.

* * *

Sans stares down Frisk, who flickers like a glitched out television between the forms of Asgore and himself. He can't stop even for a moment. His arms are tired. His soul is exhausted. Papyrus's silver dust sparkles in the snow. Ryuk's black blood spatters across the cold golden tiles. Frisk/Asgore/Himself raises a hand with a knife/trident/axe, grinning/scowling/grinning.

"welp. guess the old lady gets what she wanted after all." Sans sighs. "too bad, pal. i was startin' ta like you, too, before you killed my brother."

"Hee Hee,"/"Ha Ha Ha,"/"heh." The amalgamation laughs, dripping from the seams as bones rip through it. Then Sans staggers back from the responding attacks.

Papyrus stands in front of Sans, taking the blows meant for him. "b-bro-" Sans cries and reaches out- too late. Silver dust shatters. And it's Ryuk's eyes grinning at him from behind the dagger. Sans raises a hand to send them to hell.

Their eyes widen helplessly as a red trident spears through their neck. Gurgling with wordless drowning agony, they reach out for him. Frozen, Sans can only watch as their blood starts to flood the hall. It rises higher and higher, soaking into Sans's slippers, his shorts, his jacket, seeping through his ribcage, suffocating him as he falls into the bitter river.

He screams into the void. And from the darkness comes an echo.

It says, "Darling, what a terrible dream."

Sans jumps back from the huge winged metal monstrosity rising from the depths. "tonton?? what are ya doin' here?"

Tonton shrugs flamboyantly. Of all Papyrus's exes, Sans always disliked Tonton least. "It seems the dreams reset if we're in another person's dream too long." The android says. "I've been wandering through all the dreams and giving encouragement."

"you find a way out yet?"

"No." Tonton says. "It's an efficient, if lazy, trap. All they had to do was set it up to keep the crews caught in nightmares until they arrive and deactivate the trap."

"uh. wow. that's kinda sadistic."

"It's safer than killing or injuring the trapped, darling, because you never know who could be out for revenge. Besides, you don't _have_ to stay in one dream, as long as you don't stay too long in one place."

"guess i'm outta here, then." Sans shortcuts to the side. He finds himself in a dark claustrophobic cave, and someone whimpering a few feet away. "asgore?" He calls nervously.

"S-Sans." Asgore speaks dully.

"you do know-"

"This's a dream, yes."

"oh. okay. guess my work here is done then."

"Don't go, please." Asgore begs. Sans unwillingly listens to the clenching in his soul. "I- I'm sorry."

"really." Sans says. "you're _sorry_?"

"Please forgive me." Asgore rumbles humbly. "I was horrible to all I ruled over, and I have only just been realizing how badly I've affected everyone."

"eh. well, holding grudges is too much work for me, plus it was a while ago, so i forgive ya." Sans shrugs. It really didn't affect him too badly, so it's not hard for him to forgive Asgore.

"Thank you, Sans." Asgore says.

"i gotta go, but, uh, you don't have to stay in one place. keep movin' forward, you hear?"

"I hear."

"great. nice talking to ya, fuzzball." Sans shortcuts away, his quota for talking about emotional subjects all filled for the day.

He comes across MK next, and ignores the twinge of guilt in his soul. "hey."

"Yo." MK says, watching colorful fish in a river as they dance.

"uh. isn't this supposed to be a nightmare?"

"Why, yo?" MK responds dreamily.

"uh. okay." Sans sees Luon resting in the grass beside MK. "how are you two already in the same dream??"

"Yo, are you gonna shut your mouth and stare at the fish with us, or are you gonna leave?"

"guess i'm leavin', then." Sans sidles away before shortcutting to another dream.

Everything goes staticky and hazy, then he wakes up in Papyrus's chair with only a blurry gist of what occurred in his dreams. "wait- what just happened-" He stammers, staring out of the viewport at the five huge tentacle-y ships surrounding the fleet.

* * *

The confused and irritated admiral wakes up, feeling like there's something missing. After feeling so comfortable in the dream's skin, the admiral feels like shit now in this tall lanky _masculine_ body. He- they? she?--'she' feels nice, like being a burrito in a warm blanket, but shame wards him away from using it_\--_stands up, stretching and yawning. Papyrus was asleep on the couch for some reason, but he remembers why when he sees the hungover Ryuk curled on her bed. "YOU'D BETTER NOT THROW UP!" She- he admonishes them.

They moan and roll off her bed, crawling to the bathroom. "Pl-please- medicine?" They beg.

Papyrus takes mercy on them. "Very Well, You Scoundrel." Sh-he says, weirdly glad his voice is naturally reedy and higher-pitched. She gets a pill for pain from the cabinet and goes into the bathroom to hand it to them. Ryuk takes it with a grunt of gratitude, swallows it, then resumes their curled up position on the rug.

"Y-you gonna douse me in freezing water again, qu-queen?" They ask nervously after a few minutes.

"I Should, Shouldn't I." Papyrus says sternly. Ryuk winces with a small rueful smile. "But No. I Think I'll Make You Spend A Week Scraping The Barnacles Off The Engines, Instead."

"D-didn't know you were that de-desperate for a date." Ryuk mumbles, managing to smirk despite their migraine and nausea.

The admiral stomps a foot on the floor. "NOT FUNNY, INCORRIGIBLE RASCAL!!" He wants to ask them if they remember anything. He's scared they do. She's more scared they don't.

"Sorry." They groan. The admiral stomps a foot one last time. "Get- out-" Ryuk heaves over the toilet.

The admiral squawks indignantly and stomps out. "Serves You Right For Getting Drunk And Stealing My Bed!! Some Lousy Friend You Are."

Ryuk chokes on their own vomit, coughing violently. The admiral takes pity on them and goes back, grabbing their hair so it doesn't get all gross. "S-sorry." Ryuk mumbles thickly. "Water, please?"

Papyrus gets his friend a glass of water, After Ryuk is done and cleaned up, they curl up on the couch. She- _he_ sits beside them, nervous to ask them about the hazy memory of the dreams.

"So." He starts, then stops.

"Uh. Are you a girl?" Ryuk asks, blinking blearily at her.

"N-NO??" A sinking feeling of being absolute shit floods her bones with the lie. "I- I MEAN- I CERTAINLY DON'T THINK I AM, I THINK I WOULD KNOW ALREADY IF I WAS??"

Ryuk boops Papyrus's forehead with a finger. "It can take some people a bit longer to figure it out, maybe because there's so much other stressors in their life. Don't rush it. Do think about it, though."

Papyrus's cheekbones heat, his sockets locked under Ryuk's scrutiny. "I- I Suppose I Will Try-" A call from the bridge buzzes. He answers it.

Suzy's voice comes through desperately, "Hey, we have a situation here, please report to the bridge, Admiral!"

"Fuck." Papyrus scowls. "Alright, come on, Ryuk."

"Lemme get dressed." They say and bound to their closet.

"Thank You For Not Coming To The Bridge In Fluffy Pajamas Again." Papyrus sighs and stomps out, going to the bridge.

When he gets there, he stops short, taken aback by the five huge starships surrounding the fleet. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??"

"uh, well, bro, we were in a nightmare trap." Sans says. "and now we're trapped by these fuckers."

"I See That." Papyrus grumbles, trying to push away her irritation at the pet name. "Suzy, try to contact them, and get a curunir up here, preferably not Dexi."

Ryuk stumbles onto the bridge a few minutes later, wincing from the light. Papyrus directs them to sit by Esther. They obey with a salute and a nervous glance to the ships mere kilometers away. "Shit." They mutter.

"We Don't Know Who They Are." Papyrus tells them, clenching his fists as she tries to not panic or snap.

Nurse Ria strides onto the bridge. "Sir?" She salutes, then gives a wink to Ryuk, who smiles wanly back.

"You're Our Translator." Papyrus says, curling a finger in the comforting soft scarf. "Suzy, The Channel?"

"Yes, sir!" Suzy cries and a screen pops up.

Ria flickers a disconcerting shade of cyan for a brief moment and glances to the admiral. "Sir, I can't read them?"

"What??" The admiral cries. "How Can You Not Read Them??"

The glowing amorphous lights on the other end of the channel speak in crackling static. The admiral looks around the room, seeing the officers confused and worried, then spots Ryuk shrinking in their seat. Afraid, she assumes, but they don't look confused. If anything, she'd say they look- resentful?

"Look, Just Talk And Maybe They Can Translate It If They're So High-Tech!" The admiral decides. "Tell Them We Didn't Mean To Trespass, If That's Why We Were Caught In The Trap." Ria nods and starts to obey.

"Sir." Ryuk says softly, then repeats it louder as Papyrus ignores them the first time. They press a hand to their head as the static grows louder. "That won't work. Kneel and apologize."

The Admiral gives Ryuk a look of irritated bemusement. "Why Should I Do That??"

"Because they're going to _capture us_ if you don't." Ryuk snaps. "And trust me, you don't want the _Aggelos_ to capture you, you _really_ don't."

Papyrus bristles. "I'm Not Bowing To Them!! We Don't Even Know How Strong They Are!"

"I do!!" Ryuk cries shrilly, hiding their head in their hands. "Please!"

Papyrus growls irritably. The static grows to a nearly-painful volume. She- he hates the idea of humbling himself. But, oddly, part of him _trusts_ Ryuk. And haven't they proven themself worthy of that trust? Despite their betrayal, which feels like eons ago. He focuses his scowl on the Aggelos and slowly gets down on one knee. "I- _Apologize_ For Trespassing." She says through gritted teeth. The Aggelos say something else before the channel closes, and Papyrus rises again, brushing invisible dirt from her jacket. "ALRIGHT, EXPLAIN." She demands, feeling she deserves a fucking good explanation now that her officers all have varying degrees of shock and discomfort in their stances and eyes.

Ryuk doesn't meet her gaze. "They forgive us this time, but-"

"What Are They And How Can You Understand Them When Even A _Curunir_ Can't??" Papyrus interrupts.

"Uh, first we have to warp away, like, right now."

"Very Well. Helms, Take Us Out Of Here, go back towards the Ivren, we'll have to go through their sector to get to the Vaux. Suzy, Notify The Fleet Of Our New Course." Her orders are obeyed without question in the tense atmosphere. "Now, Ensign Ryuk-"

"Those were the Aggelos." Ryuk says. "They- uh. Are like the Ivren, cause they were in the Milky Way too, so- uh, that's how I know the language. They're technologically advanced." They mumble the last bit like they're hoping the Admiral doesn't question them further.

"And Why Can't Ria Talk To Them??"

"They don't have souls." Ryuk mumbles. "They- uh, stick to themselves, so they wouldn't know anything about the wormholes." They smile weakly. Papyrus feels like he's seen that particular smile on them before, but she can't recall where.

"At least the Vaux will know who the wormhole aliens are." She says.

"M-maybe we should- uh, give up- on going back?" Ryuk offers nervously. Suzy protests that with a loud angry meow.

Papyrus gives Ryuk a stern scowl. "Why's That??" He realizes where he's seen the smile before, in Skoria, right before- and here he trusted them, _again._ "Are You Trying To Hide Something From Me??"

"N-no?!" They yelp and shrink. They're definitely hiding something. Papyrus scowls at them, furious. They look down guiltily. "Maybe?"

"And What Would That Be??" He tries to keep a rein on his temper.

They glare at the ground. "I'm not telling you, cactus-butt."

"RYUK, SO HELP ME, IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THE WORMHOLE-"

"No." They retort. "I don't, and you can't make me tell you."

Admiral Papyrus Eleos growls, low and menacing with restrained fury. "Ensign Ryuk, I'm Going To Count To Ten. I Want A Full Explanation When I Finish." Ryuk glowers and crosses their arms, slouching in their seat.

Papyrus huffs and collapses back into his chair, feeling like he's about to catch Ryuk's migraine as he counts slowly in his head. "Sans, Go Check On MK For Me." He says tersely at the count of five.

Sans nods and disappears. Papyrus looks over to Esther, who seems concerned. Suzy still looks angry. Ria is clear and seemingly calm, showing the ensign at helms a trick with some string. Papyrus finally reaches ten. "Ryuk." He says.

Ryuk sulks sullenly. "I'm not telling you. Put me in the brig, give me extra work, whatever, I won't- I can't let everyone die."

Anger burns, but he tries to control it. "Do You Really Trust Me That Little??" He doesn't add: '_after I trusted you??_'

Ryuk looks up, hurt in their glaring eyes. "I-"

"Do You Really Think I'm So Foolish As To Go After Something That Would Kill Us All??" He slams a fist on the arm of his chair.

"Sir- no, but-"

"Then. _Tell_ _Me_."

They duck their head, chewing on their scarred lip. "N-no."

Papyrus glares at them. "Does It Have Something To Do With The Wormhole??" It must, if they're being so reticent. They shake their head too quickly, their eyes glistening with fear. "It _Does_." Papyrus says and they wince. "Are They The Aliens Who Created The Wormhole??"

"No-" They say, choking on the lie.

"Wonderful." He snaps, not one bit placated by the revelation since he had to drag it out of them. "You Think I Can't Handle Them??"

"I _know_ we can't!!" Ryuk cries. "They're way more advanced than the Ivren, and we had to escape from _them_!! B-besides, I'm the only person who knows Aggelos in this fleet and I refuse to help you negotiate with them!"

Papyrus scowls at them, fury rekindled by their stubbornness. "Wonderful! Then I Expect You To Escort Yourself To The Brig For Insubordination."

Ryuk stares in disbelief at him. "What?? I'm saving you!!"

Papyrus rises, fire burning uncontrollably in his ribs. "You Refuse To Help Us Get Home? _Fine_. I Won't Force You. Go To The Brig. _Now_. I'll Find Another Way."

Ryuk's eyes fill with tears, and guilt nearly douses Papyrus's rage. "B-but-"

Papyrus almost relents. But he hardens his soul to them and turns away, crossing his arms. "_Right_ _Now_, Ryuk. I Won't Play Favorites, Even For A Friend."

"If you're going to keep treating me like shit, then I don't fucking want your friendship, _asshole_." They spit, their voice trembling with rage and fear. And then, before Papyrus can turn around, they stomp out, the door sliding closed behind them with a hiss of finality.

Spears of guilt finally manage to wiggle through his defenses and hot angry tears blur Papyrus's vision as an overwhelming sense of weakness--_loss--_rips through his soul. He dabs viciously at his sockets to get rid of the foolish weak tears before anyone can see them. He doesn't need Ryuk's friendship. Not if they're going to get in her way.


	21. Toughening

The brig is empty and cold, but that's not what bothers you. You slouch on the cot, your back leaning against the wall, and you try to not think about anything, because if you think about anything, you'll end up thinking about everything, and then your resolve might weaken.

Sans comes in often, which is both relieving and guilt-inducing, which is probably by his design. But he doesn't scold you outright, not yet.

He walks in a couple days after you've been locked in the brig and he tuts, shaking his head. "ain't this a familiar sight." He says lightly as you're huddled in the corner. "ya know, kid, Paps's been doing everything in his power to get everyone home." Oh, _now_ he scolds you.

"This is my home." You grumble back. "I don't want it to be destroyed."

"welp. we're off to the vaux for now, to get more resources and some help with negotiatin', see if the vaux have anyone who knows aggelos." Sans says. "but if ya helped us-"

"No." You spit.

"why? you want us to all die?"

"N-no- I just- I can't-"

Sans shrugs and leaves. The next time he visits, he brings a book. "you asked for this." He says and puts it on the cot next to you. "so here, kid." You don't look at it, sulking. "look, you could just help us and Paps'd forgive ya."

Bitterness rankles in your soul. "I don't want that fucker's forgiveness." You snarl.

"so you'd rather let him go to his death." Sans growls. "i see how it is."

"Sh- he doesn't _have_ to-"

"what, give up on going home?? does that sound like my bro?? when there's a perfectly viable way right here for us?"

Clenching your fists, you say hotly, "It's _not_-"

"maybe not, but we don't know that. all we've got is your word for it, and that ain't enough, kid." Sans interrupts.

"But-"

"no, kid. you've proven yourself a coward and a liar." You flinch at his words, glaring at the floor with stinging eyes. "now, ya could prove you care about my bro and your home here and help us not get destroyed, or ya could run away again, proving you'll never change." Sans unlocks your cell door. "there's a runabout in the hangar with a couple days of supplies. or my bro's in his office. your choice. but if you flee, that's strike three, and i won't be pleased to see ya again."

You turn away, hurt clenching like a vise around your chest at the cruel choice. The Aggelos will capture the fleet if Papyrus insists on trying to pursue the wormhole. And they won't be gentle. But if you run away, you'd have nowhere to go. You lose your home- you lose _Papyrus_ either way.

Curling up, you snatch the book Sans gave you and open it to read complicated jargon about wormholes. There's a third choice, stay here and hope Papyrus gives up on her own.

* * *

Papyrus scowls at Frisk as she sways sedately beside the Vaux ambassador. "Hee hee, hi, Papy!" She says happily. "Here for your one true love?"

"_NO_!" Papyrus snarls. "I'M HERE TO BRING YOU AND TORIEL HOME. RIFLI KNOWS NEITHER OF YOU DESERVE IT, BUT YOU CAN RESET WHEN WE GET BACK AND FIX EVERYTHING SO WE NEVER HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN!"

Frisk's eyes light up. "Anything for you, Papy."

Papyrus suppresses a shudder. "YES, WELL, CAN YOU ASK YOUR FRIENDS IF THEY HAVE AN AMBASSADOR TO THE AGGELOS?" He doesn't bother restraining her volume. She's pissed and irritated and doesn't care who's bothered by it.

Frisk turns to the ambassador and talks to them. Sans appears by Papyrus's side and Frisk visibly tries to hide a flinch, but Sans ignores her. "hey, bro. the kid's okay."

Papyrus represses relief and guilt, and tries to look like he doesn't care, even though she's been the one sending Sans to check on Ryuk. "WONDERFUL." He growls. "HAVE THEY CHANGED THEIR MIND??"

"i talked to'em. maybe they'll see sense."

Papyrus forces an awkward shrug. "Whatever." He grumbles. "FRISK, REPORT."

"They don't want to!!" She says cheerfully. "But I can help!"

"You Can??"

"Sure I can, I- I knew a few Aggelos back in the Milky Way!"

Papyrus glowers at her. "You Mean Chara Did?"

"Uh. Hee hee, maybe?" She claps her hands together. "Now, will you date me if I do this for you, Papy??"

Unaccountable anger surges but Papyrus breathes and pushes Ryuk out of his mind, regardless of why they snuck in. "Yes." He agrees. It won't be forever, only until Frisk resets in the Milky Way and fixes everything so that he doesn't have to remember this timeline.

"Aww, Papy-poo, I love my bestest boyfriend!!" Frisk cries, then runs and leaps into Papyrus's arms. Papyrus grinds her teeth, trying to not regret the decision despite the stab from the stupid _wrong_ term. She needs to get everyone back home. This is a small price to pay.

* * *

Sans checks on the runabout later in the day. It's still there, so the kid hasn't run. Yet. He's kinda relieved, although he'd never admit that to anyone. He sees Toriel storming down the hall towards him, and so he shortcuts away. The bitch is lucky Undyne's on another ship currently.

He sees a mug of warm sriracha on the counter when he goes into his quarters. "heh." He grunts, assuming it's Papyrus's way of apologizing for being on such a short fuse lately.

He drinks it all, then falls asleep on the couch, feeling drowsy.

* * *

When Papyrus calls Undyne to the _Liltha_ and tells her of the plan, the fishy warrior queen doesn't know what to think or feel. She slumps onto a chair in the conference room. Ross nips at her fingers, nearly half her size now. "Mama sad?" He asks. She gathers him in her arms and lets tears drip down her cheeks. Tonton has been showing her ways to let out her passionate emotions safely, so she utilizes all the methods she knows with varying degrees of success.

She misses Alphys. But she doesn't want to lose Ross, either. It's true she wouldn't remember even having Ross, but- but just _knowing_ that makes the thought even worse. "Mama, why sad?" Ross nuzzles her chin.

"Because Mama doesn't want you to die, baby." Undyne growls. She has to save her son. She'll meet Alphys in the afterlife someday, and when she does, she doesn't want to admit that her wimpy longing for her mate made her allow her son to be taken away.

And Alphys died in Andromeda, so maybe Undyne should, too.

An odd smell permeates the air. Ross staggers and falls to the floor. _Gas_. Undyne purses her lips and tries to not breath as she picks up her son and runs for the door.

Someone slams the door shut in her face. She gasps to shout, then realizes her mistake too late as she falls to the floor, consciousness fading fast until she knows no more.

* * *

Asgore sighs as he sits in a broom closet and contemplates life. He doesn't know where to go from here. What should he be living for, if not for his own safety and pleasure?

Frisk opens the door, smiling. He sighs and turns away. "I'm sorry for everything I've done, young one."

"Hee hee." She giggles. "_Sorry_ doesn't heal scars. But I'll forgive you if you do something for me."

Asgore listens solemnly. And, after a moment of thought, he agrees.

* * *

Chara is nowhere to be found, and Toriel becomes more and more agitated as she wanders the starship. She sees Sans, but the skeleton quickly disappears as she storms towards him. Toriel finally screeches in rage. And then she spots a note taped to the wall, telling her Chara is in the brig.

She goes there, but the brig is empty save for one pathetic adani immersed in reading a book. The all-too-familiar smell of the Vaux sleeping gas reaches her nose as the door to the brig slides closed. The adani panics and tries to hold their breath as they stumble for and scrape against the door, but Toriel knows better than to resist the chemicals. She breathes and lets the gas take over as it drags her into sleep.

* * *

Bracken glowers at the cookies sitting in the quarters he shares with M'rer and Kal'bun. The grey floofy tail of M'rer and the broad brick-colored scales of Kal'bun lay tangled in a heap of blankets on their bed. Bracken curses under his breath, then shrugs and eats the rest of the cookies, then sits down on the couch to wait. He falls asleep willingly a few minutes later.

* * *

Papyrus tosses and turns in her bed, missing Ryuk's whatever-it-was that made her like them. He huffs irritably and rolls out of bed. They may have completely deserved being sent to the brig, but guilt still bothers her at the memory of their last words to him. Maybe they were just throwing a tantrum and didn't really mean it. But the words hurt Papyrus all the same.

He stomps to the brig, passing the murals of homelands and dead starmas. A sharp pain slams against the back of his head- _snow falling, a smiling teen holding a dagger dripping with ichor and dust-_ and she collapses to the floor, her soul in agony as his HP drops too quickly to handle.

* * *

Esther completes a task in her console, then sighs as she looks at the itinerary for today. Papyrus still hasn't come up to the bridge. Neither has Sans.

She gets up and leaves the bridge under Suzy and Se'Vir's command. Commander Luon is currently eating dinner with his boyfriend MK after having picked up the ghost shift for the absent admiral. Papyrus is probably just sleeping. Or sulking. Or both? Esther doesn't care which, and _she_ won't bother him since there's really no immediate need for him to be on duty.

She reaches the brig and frowns at the closed door. Usually the door to the brig remains open. She has to slide it forcibly ajar, then slips inside and coughs at the rancid smell, eyes watering. Ensign Ryuk lays on the ground right by the door where they collapsed. She grabs them and drags them outside, then closes the door, relieved to breathe sterile air again.

Ryuk moans and then jerks up onto their elbows only to spew vomit all over the floor. Esther pats their back as they're reduced to dry heaving. "I don't have water here, but I know where you can get some." She says gently.

"Y-yeah?" They mumble thickly. "Th-thanks. D-did you get Toriel?"

Esther frowns. "You were the only person I saw in there. What happened?"

"T-Toriel came in- and then the air turned sour and I fainted." Ryuk says, wiping their mouth with a hand and then looking disgusted at themself. Esther helps them up and they stagger down the hall with her arm under their shoulder.

"We'll tell Papyrus and he'll figure it out. The filtration system probably malfunctioned." Esther assures them.

They wince. "You can."

"Actually, I was thinking _you_ should." She says, hardening her tone slightly. "You need to talk to him."

"N-no, I don't." They grumble petulantly.

"I believe I remember you still owe me a favor." Esther says. "And you _do_. Both of you are stubborn jackasses, but I can tell you care about him, and I know he cares about you."

"Heh- you're j-joking, right?" They grimace

"No. I'm Esther, remember?" She smirks a bit at the old dead joke.

"Ha ha. If she c-cared about me-"

"The problem is, Ensign, he doesn't _just_ care about you. He cares about all of us. And the vast majority of us want to go home, therefore Admiral Papyrus will do everything in his power to make that happen." They look like they want to growl at her, but she continues, disregarding their guilty anger. "He can't give up everything for one person, even if that person happens to be more important to him." They glare at the ground. She finishes with one last slicing observation as she stops before the admiral's quarters. "The Admiral would _never_ have _knelt_ to an enemy if he didn't value and _trust_ the person telling him to."

Shame darkens their skin. "Oh."

"Talk to him after we've figured out the problem with the brig's filtration. That's an order, Ensign." She gives them a light shove towards his door.

"C-can you wait here?" They plead nervously.

"Hm, I suppose I can do that, just to make sure you don't renege on the favor."

They smile wanly and then enter the quarters they share with the admiral. Esther taps her foot and waits. They emerge a few moments later, wet from hastily washing up and wearing a wrinkled uniform. "Uh- she's not in there? Is she on the bridge?" They say with worry in their eyes and voice.

It's possible he went up to the bridge while she was attending to the ensign. So she goes back with Ryuk following her.

He's not on the bridge. He's not in his office. Suzy relays a ship-wide request for him to come up to the bridge since nobody can reach his personal com. But he never answers.

"I can't reach Sans, either!" Suzy cries, panicking. Esther places a hand on the miriel's head, stroking her soft rosetted fur.

"It's going to be okay, maybe he left the _Liltha_ to take care of business on another ship." But Papyrus would have said something if he were going to visit another ship. He wouldn't just disappear like this.

* * *

Frisk giggles at the six sleeping bodies in her inventory, ignoring Chara's hissed threats and tantrums. She dances to the hangar and picks the first runabout she sees, which also happens to conveniently have supplies in it already. Frisk would have gone to the Vaux for supplies if she had to, but now she doesn't need to.

Inside her inventory, her boyfriend Papyrus groans nauseously. Frisk injects the inventory with a bit more of the sleeping gas she got from the Vaux, who used it on Toriel to subdue violent outbursts.

Beside Papyrus, Undyne lays motionless, her teeth bared defiantly even in her sleep. Toriel and Asgore lay curled together where she threw them both. Sans sleeps in the corner. And finally, Bracken, her best friend forever, rests in between Undyne and Papyrus.

She missed them. She was away from them for so long. But she'll take them home and they'll see that they were created to love her; their purpose is to adore her, their hero and savior.

Her family is all here. She's going to take them home and keep them in a safe place where they'll always be happy and never want to leave. She takes the helm and releases the docking clamps before opening the airlock and flying out, whistling a cheery tune under her breath. _Her_ tune.

Megalovania.


	22. If You Dare To Find It

MK stares in confusion when he walks onto the bridge and nearly everyone salutes him. "Y-yo, what's this about?" He'd been called away from dinner with Luon, so it'd better be a hell of a good reason.

"Captain Mil-Gwedh, sir! The Admiral has disappeared and the Acting Admiral Ross has taken the fleet to explore a new sector!"

"I- what??" MK stammers. He knows his rank is technically equal to that of a captain, higher even than Luon's, who's still a commander. It's the rest of the speech that he's having trouble making sense of.

"Papyrus and Undyne just disappeared!!" Suzy cries, lashing her tail anxiously. MK blinks and tries to figure out who's on the bridge. He sees one of the Alliance ensigns on helm. Esther is in the ops console, tapping away at the holographic controls as she argues quietly with Ryuk. Se'Vir, the person who'd spoken first, stands at attention still.

"At- at ease?" MK says. Se'Vir droops, his feathers lacking their normal luster and bounce. "Yo, where's Sans?"

"We can't find him either!"

A channel opens onto the screen and Frisk's face grins into the bridge. "Hey, cuties!!" She giggles. MK growls angrily. "I took my family and I'm taking them home, okay? No fear, I'm gonna love them _beyond_ death!! Death won't be parting us! Ever~!"

"Frisk, you idiot, bring them back, yo!!" MK cries. "We need them!!"

"Hm, no, you don't! I do!! They're _mine_!! Bye-eee~!" She giggles and closes the channel.

Rage fills Mil-Gwedh till his vision starts to tunnel and turn black. "Yo, Suzy, get a lock on her warp signature. Track her down. Se'Vir, tell the fleet we're going after Frisk alone." Ryuk's noise of protest is cut off by MK's fierce glare. "Ryuk, yo, you're translating if we don't catch up in time."

"Yes, sir." Ryuk, for once, doesn't argue. They salute instead. Surprised, especially after their argument with Papyrus, MK just nods back.

"Alright, yo, let's go after Frisk!"

The _Liltha_ breaks away from the fleet and leaps into warp, following the trail Frisk's runabout left behind. The runabouts are faster than the starships, but they also have less food and fuel, so Frisk will have to stop frequently to restock if she's planning on going directly to the Aggelos' sector.

From a holographic map gained from trading with the Vaux, MK can see the Ivren's sector is too wide and thick to go around, so Frisk will have to go through it. The Aggelos' sector, meanwhile, seems oddly small in comparison to the Vaux and Ivren. There's other sectors in various colors, but MK can't parse the words, so he leaves that to Suzy and Se'Vir.

The hours bleed on and Frisk's trail doesn't waver from her course, even though she has to be running low by now. MK starts to wonder if she prepared more than he thought. She _did_ somehow manage to kidnap Undyne, Sans, and Papyrus. "Ryuk, yo, figure out exactly who and what Frisk took with her, and if you can figure out how she kidnapped them, you get bonus points."

"Yes, sir." Ryuk says again and gets up.

MK frowns at them. "Yo, why are you so- _professional_ all the sudden??" Ryuk glances down with a brief flicker of guilt before shrugging and striding past him to the door. MK huffs as he realizes they must be blaming themself. "This's not your fault, y'know."

"_Sure_." They mutter, bitter sarcasm leaking from the single word. Then they're out the door and gone.

The report they hand him a few hours later has a short list of names, a longer list of supplies, and the ID of the stolen runabout. He almost hands it back to them before processing the fact that they're currently holding onto Undyne's baby. "Uh, yo-" He stammers uncertainly. "Maybe take him to Tonton?"

"Tonton is busy." Ryuk intones dully, their fingers scritching at Ross's feathery ruff. "I'll take care of him."

"Y-yo, okay, but-"

Ryuk doesn't listen to MK's trailed-off protests, and takes Ross to the ops console, sitting down with the baby velociraptor sedryn in their arms. Ross has his harness on, but seems content to stay with Ryuk. MK sighs. "Fine, yo, but you clean up after him."

"Yes, sir."

MK glares down at the report to hide his irritation. This situation isn't fair to anyone, so Ryuk doesn't have the right to sulk when MK is trying to fix everything. The tablet swims in his vision. "Yo, can Frisk's runabout cloak??"

"No." Ryuk says as Ross nibbles at a cookie produced from a secret stash underneath the console.

MK glowers at them. "Yo, he's not supposed to have cookies, he could choke. And then you'll be in trouble, cause Undyne will have your head." Ryuk sheepishly takes the cookie away from Ross. MK thinks for a moment, then asks, "Do we have any runabouts that can cloak?"

"Yeah!!" Suzy cheers. "Cuina upgraded a couple!!"

"Se'Vir, form two teams." MK orders. "Each one to a runabout. Supply them with four days worth of food and fuel, and chase down Frisk."

"Yes, sir!" Se'Vir salutes.

"Ryuk, looks like we won't need you after all." MK says. "We'll get to Frisk before she reaches the Aggelos."

Ryuk gulps as they stand up. Ross's tail beats at their knees as he sniffs the cookie that Esther tries vainly to hide from MK's sight. "Sir!" Ryuk cries. "P-permission to join a team!"

MK stares at them for a moment, dumbstruck. "Yo, you really want to??" Ryuk wilts at the doubt, but MK quickly recovers. "That's great!! You're getting braver, yo!! Se'Vir, make sure you bring saints and dart-guns." MK turns the topic to preparations for the mission, and includes Ryuk in the conversation.

When the two cloak-capable runabouts are ready, MK sends Se'Vir in one and Ryuk in the other as the two team leaders. The runabouts--named _Nar_ and _Gaer_\--leave the _Liltha_ to complete their mission.

* * *

Darkness surrounds Sans. He tries to move, but regrets it immediately as nausea washes through his body. "ugh-"

"S-Sans??" Papyrus groans from a few feet away.

Sans taps the ground. It shimmers for a moment before stinging his hand with the backlash. "uh oh." He says. "we're in someone's inventory."

"Obviously. Frisk Has Not Been Secretive About Her Obsession With Her Family And With Being Our Hero, And I Regret Not Being More Paranoid Now." A light shines through the darkness. Sans crawls over to it and hugs his bro.

"you think it's frisk?"

"Who Else Would It Be??" Papyrus snaps.

"Uggghhhh." Undyne groans beside Papyrus. "I'm gonna freaking _beat _that bitch. Ross, honey- oh, _fuck_. She forgot Ross!! HEY!! Fucking _CUNT_!! You forgot my son!!"

"Hahaha, Frisk doesn't care about your baby." Another voice says bitterly. One of Papyrus's hands leaves Sans's embrace to grasp the new speaker's shoulder. _Flowey_. Alright, so he wants to be called Bracken now, but he's still a dirty manipulator. "She just wants her _family_ back." Bracken sneers.

"welp, i think she forgot mk and mettaton, too."

"She doesn't care for those two." Bracken says. "We're her main quarry."

"Wh-where is my child??" Toriel cries from another corner of the intra-dimensional cage also known as an inventory.

"You're inside her." Bracken laughs darkly.

Asgore huffs and sits up in the tremulous light of Papyrus's electric torch. "We all seem to be here, I see."

"you don't sound surprised, fuzzball."

"Frisk told me of her plan. I agreed to come quietly." Asgore rumbles.

Sans's grin falls slightly. "really, fuzzball??"

"She's not planning to harm anyone. She wants to get us home and fix everything."

Sans notices Papyrus has been uncharacteristically silent and he's rattling softly in Sans's arms. Paps has always been prone to panic attacks when he's out of control of the situation. This isn't a good place for him to lose control of himself. "shush, bro, it's gonna be alright." He hums quietly against Paps's skull.

Papyrus growls, vitriolic and menacing, lost in time. Sans lets go of him and scrambles away, then grasps Paps's soul with blue magic, using the barest minimum amount of mana necessary. There's nothing any of them can do to escape the cage. Sans hopes his bro pulls himself together before he hurts himself. 

"Hey everyone~" Frisk's voice filters from every surface. "I hope you're all being good, hee hee. We're two days away from the Aggelos, and then we'll be home!"

"Fuck you!!" Undyne shouts. The torch slips from Papyrus's hand and clatters on the ground. Undyne grabs it and slams it against the wall furiously, cracking the lens and making the light flicker. "Let us out!!"

"Hee hee, nope!" Frisk replies.

"hey, bro, how long do the batteries last?" Sans asks Papyrus, hoping to snap his bro back.

Papyrus just snarls incoherently. Undyne slaps him on the back and Sans has to give his soul a sharp jerk in the opposite direction before he can attack her. Papyrus's dark sockets fall on Sans and his teeth open in a threatening growl. Sans sighs and yanks the younger brother up against the far wall, keeping him pinned there. Papyrus goes limp at the correction, rattling his bones loudly.

Toriel and Asgore have been arguing for the past few minutes, but Sans missed most of it. He tries to ignore it now, too, and then sees Bracken approaching Papyrus. "hey, i wouldn't do that-"

"Hahaha, you don't know your sibling like I do, Sans." Bracken jeers and sits on Papyrus's lap. He slips off one glove, tapping and rubbing patterns into Paps's wrist-bones. "Let Rus go."

"nope. he might hurt himself." 

"Like this?" Bracken takes one of Papyrus's fingers and breaks it with a swift snap. Sans nearly kills the bastard right there, but Papyrus responds first, biting into Bracken's shoulder and growling ferociously as he spins the bastard so that Paps is between Sans and Bracken. Green fire wraps around the broken finger.

"bro-"

"Nuh-uh, bad Sans." Bracken jeers, not showing any signs of pain as Papyrus shifts his jagged-toothed grip up to the bastard's neck. "What's Rus wanna be called?"

Sans notes distantly that Undyne has joined Asgore and Toriel's argument. He wishes for a moment that Papyrus was totally fine and Bracken wasn't here so that he could just nap away the tension. "i don't listen to viney brats like you." He snaps.

"Golly, that's too bad. Rus _loves_ listening to me, don't you, Rus." Bracken strokes Papyrus's skull, down his ribcage, down his spine. Sans can only watch, cold with fury. Papyrus shivers and releases the bastard from his jaws, then nuzzles into Bracken's chest, purring. Green fire heals the bites on Bracken's shoulder and neck.

"what the hell-"

"The thing you have to realize about Rus," Bracken says, his arms around Papyrus- but _Sans_ should be the one comforting his little bro- "Is he trusts very few people, and the ones he does trust, he does so in varying degrees and with varying things. He would never trust _you_ to restrain him properly or know how to break his bones without permanently damaging him." Bracken smirks and Sans hates the ugly look so goddamn much.

"get away from my bro, you sick freak."

"Gee, hear that, Rus? Let's see what _you_ want. Color?" The last is said like an order.

"Orange." Papyrus murmurs.

Bracken's smirk widens triumphantly. "Hahaha, golly, _orange_ means _I like this, keep going_."

Sans splutters, sure that Bracken has to be manipulating Papyrus into liking whatever fucked up thing he's doing. "Paps, come on, get away from him so I can _kill_ him."

Papyrus shakes his head petulantly, reminding Sans of the little babybones, leader of the Dandy Lions, a small gang of elementary kids who used their protected status as minors to steal food and valuables. Paps never admitted just who else was in the gang with him after Sans and Grillby found out about it. He just shook his head with a tight-jawed petulant scowl.

"Paps, c'mon." Sans pleads.

"Don't Kill Him." Papyrus retorts, sounding less out-of-it than before. "He's My Friend."

"fine, i won't kill the bastard." Sans agrees. Death is too good for Bracken.

"And No Hurting Him Either."

"heh, uh. define _hurt_."

"Really, Sans??"

Sans shrugs. He might as well force Papyrus to outline the terms, which leaves room for mistakes and loopholes. "can i hurt him like he hurt you?"

"No!"

"why not?"

"Because We Have An Agreement. You Do Not."

"bro-"

Papyrus hisses at the nickname. "_Please_, Sans."

Sans recalls the vague hazy nightmare where Papyrus claimed he was a girl. Anger stings in his sockets. "nope. yer my baby brother, and ain't nothin' gonna change that." He snaps.

Bracken and Papyrus both seem about to speak, but Frisk beats them both to the punch. "Hee hee, Papyrus, since you're my dearest darlingest boyfriend, I'm going to let you out for a bit."

Papyrus stands up, his back to Sans, bones rattling angrily. "Very Well." He says. Sans glares at Bracken, delighted that Papyrus will be out of his way so he can kill the bastard.

Papyrus phases out of the intra-dimensional cage. Bracken's grin falls as Sans stands up. "Haha, gee, Sans, you sure have a great sibling! It would be a shame if you pissed Rus off!"

Sans's fists clench. He reaches for his magic. Bracken may have a relatively low LV, but that will just make his death satisfyingly slower.

Heavy fluffy muscle slams into Sans before he can start the fight. He's bowled over, crushed under Asgore's weight. "Sorry, Sans." Asgore rumbles and rolls off of him, stinking of burnt fur.

"go fight toriel somewhere else," Sans grumbles. Bracken bleps at him and then moves behind Undyne as she tries to kill Toriel. Sans sighs angrily. He'll have to kill the bastard later. Now he can only worry about Papyrus and hope Frisk doesn't hurt him.

* * *

As soon as Papyrus is out of Frisk's inventory, she tries to attack. Metal snaps around her neck, and her magic sputters and whiplashes back onto her soul. She stumbles to one knee, growling. Although aware of Frisk clicking mag-cuffs around her wrists and ankles, she's unable to resist her. Her bones rattle with his panic and anger. In her head, he counts to ten.

Frisk says something but he doesn't quite process it. She says the same thing again in a more strident and annoyed tone. He lifts his head and growls- Frisk's lips press against Papyrus's jaws, her eyes fluttering closed as she moans into the kiss. His hands find her throat and he strangles her, rage pounding in his bones and blacking out his vision. Frisk chokes and struggles. But just as her life starts to fade, Papyrus finds her senses and releases the bitch.

The traitorous bitch coughs pathetically and whimpers. "Papy-poo, why would you try to kill your girlfriend??"

He can't kill her. Not when she could easily _destroy_ the contents of her inventory right before her death. He doesn't respond to her, though. She's not sure she _can_ respond. Frisk drags her into a seat and buckles him in, lingering several moments too long whenever she brushes against Papyrus's ribs and pelvis.

"We're a couple days away, Papy-poo, I just thought you might like to be out here with me, instead of in that stuffy inventory." Frisk says.

"TURN BACK!" Papyrus barks.

"Why?" Frisk blinks innocently at her.

"I- I CAN'T LEAVE MY STARMATES BEHIND!!" She cries, finding one source of his panic.

"Aww, Papy-poo, but _I'm_ your Star!" Frisk caresses Papyrus's skull with both clammy hands.

Papyrus shudders but stays silent. Frisk has hostages right now. She can't do a single thing to stop her.

The runabout shudders, then a force jerks it out of warp. Frisk screams and holds onto Papyrus instead of being smart and trying to steady the craft or fight back. Something clangs against the hatch, then it's forced open.

Frisk yelps as a saint hits and explodes like a web around her, dragging her off of Papyrus. And the last person Papyrus ever expected to come after her steps into the craft with a dart gun and a glare leveled on Frisk. "You okay, queen?" Ryuk asks Papyrus without moving their attention from Frisk. Two starmas peek in from behind them.

"NO, I'M NOT FUCKING OKAY!!" Papyrus cries, fighting off the relief trying to douse her anger. "SHE HAS SANS LOCKED IN HER INVENTORY!"

Frisk laughs. "There's nothing you can do, hee hee, I'm gonna get them all home!!"

"Shut up." Ryuk snarls at her. "Let them go."

Frisk squirms in the net around her. "Hmm, okay!"

Papyrus scowls. That was too easy. But Ryuk lowers their guard and removes the net so that Frisk can stand up. "WATCH OUT!!" Papyrus snaps, and Ryuk ducks as a fireball flies right over them, heralding the appearance of Asgore.

Frisk cheers and hugs Asgore. "Kill them!!" She cries.

"But-" Asgore stammers.

Frisk growls. "Do you want to be forgiven or not??"

Papyrus catches Ryuk's attention with a quiet snap of her fingers. They start to sidle around to her. "Uh. Heh, you don't want to kill me." They plead with Asgore as the ex-king sadly turns to face them with fire in his clenched fists. Papyrus struggles to unbuckle herself from the seat Frisk put her in, hoping she can at least try to get in Asgore's way to buy Ryuk time to get back into their runabout.

"I don't." Asgore agrees.

Ryuk takes another small wary step, then yelps as they're forced to tumble in the opposite direction when Asgore blasts a stream of fire at them. "Wait-" They cry, then yelp again and duck under the slash of Asgore's trident."Fuck, dude, give me a chance to talk!!"

"I can't do that. My deepest apologies." Asgore rumbles.

"If you were really sorry, you'd fix it!!" Ryuk cries, barely avoiding another thrust of the trident in the small space.

Papyrus manages to unlock the buckle and then leaps up. Frisk claps her hands and the electromagnets in the ankle-cuffs smack together, but Papyrus manages to twist so that she can soften his fall slightly with her cuffed hands. Frisk's laughter cuts through her.

"RYUK, JUST GET OUT OF HERE!" She orders from the floor. "YOU CAN'T TAKE ASGORE."

"I will let you live if you leave." Asgore offers, pausing the one-sided battle.

Ryuk hesitates, then takes a defeated step towards the hatch. Their two companions haven't even entered. They glance back at Papyrus guiltily. "GO. IT'S OKAY." She says dully. There's nothing anyone can do.

They take another step. Papyrus realizes one hand is on their dart gun, which they haven't used yet. Their other hand twitches at their side, gesturing discreetly to their companions. A small ball--a flash-grenade--is flung into the runabout.

The grenade flares with bright light, forcing Papyrus to cover her sockets. Frisk shrieks. A heavy thud sounds. And then the cuffs and collar fall off under deft hands, deactivated. Papyrus feels magic thrum in her bones, waiting for her command. She grabs onto Ryuk's arm and they help her to her feet. The brilliant light dies.

Through the now-relatively-dim light of the runabout, Papyrus can see Frisk sulking, trapped in the saint again, and Asgore collapsed on the floor with a dart in his nose. "Um. We'll figure out how to get everyone back, okay? After we return to the _Liltha_." Ryuk offers carefully. Papyrus just nods, slightly stunned.

"You fucking traitor, I'm gonna kill them all if you don't let me go!!" Frisk screams. Papyrus stiffens with fury and dread. "Release me!!"

"DO IT." Papyrus orders, resigned to the fate. Ryuk droops in honest defeat this time. She pats their head. "I'm Sorry."

"Me too." Ryuk mumbles, pressing into the touch. Then they deactivate the saint and pick it up from the floor. "Welp." Their hands make a twisting motion around the saint like they're closing it, then they toss it to Papyrus. "Here."

"Friends?" She blurts before they can leave her life forever.

They grin back. "Duh." And then they duck into their runabout and the hatch closes with a depressing note of finality.

Frisk grumbles as she steps over Asgore to go to the helm and cajole the runabout back into warp. "Papy-poo, you're going back in the inventory, since you were a naughty boy." She scolds.

Papyrus scowls and slips the saint in her jacket before Frisk can notice. "I Suppose I Have No Choice." She sighs.

"Correct!!" Frisk cheers. Papyrus submits to being magically stuffed back into the intra-dimensional cage.

When she's back inside, she sits in a corner, ignoring the heated arguments going on around her, and she takes the saint out. It seems normal enough. But when she twists it open, there's a transceiver. She slips it into her auditory canal. "Well??" She tests.

"Good, it worked." Se'Vir's voice comes through. Papyrus suppresses a twinge of disappointment in favor of relief that there's more people trying to rescue her and this motley group of idiots. "Tell us when Frisk lets you all out. We've got two cloaked runabouts trailing her craft, the _Liltha_ half a day behind, and we can take control at any moment."

"Tell Ryuk Good Work For Me." Papyrus says.

"You're going to tell them yourself." Se'Vir retorts. "We're keeping an eye on you, don't worry. If Frisk tries to do anything crazy, just call for help, we're right here."

"Thank You." Papyrus looks around at her brother, her friends, and Toriel as they all fight each other. She may not be in control of the situation, but she's calm. "ALL OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP AND WAIT CALMLY FOR RESCUE!!"

* * *

On the cold metal floor of the runabout, Asgore sighs quietly, feeling like crap. The dart in his nose stings and a droplet of blood trickles between his teeth. The chemicals in the dart aren't even close to the amount needed to subdue him. But Frisk doesn't know that.

He nearly killed again. He would have killed that irritating adani if they hadn't said something he really didn't want to hear. _If you were really sorry, you'd fix it!!_ The words burn and clench in his soul. He's said his apologies and even meant them, but that doesn't do any good if he's just going to backslide into the same behavior he had to apologize for in the first place.

Frisk tuts above Asgore and yanks the dart out of his nose. He bolts upright with a pained cry. "Hee hee, you silly monster." She giggles.

"What?"

"Naughty, naughty." Frisk pats his head and gives him a stern frown. "You let them escape."

Asgore sighs. "Frisk, I can't go along with this anymore."

"What?? You can't break your promise to me!!" Frisk pouts. "You're such a nasty beast, you weren't really sorry!!"

"Listen-"

"I can't believe this!!" She snaps, and sounds less like the cutesy persona she's cultivated over the years. "Why can't you just listen to me for once?? I can get you home!! I can be your savior again!! You're all such ungrateful beasts!!"

Asgore stands up, mindful of the low ceiling. "Frisk, you're going too far. You should go back and allow Papyrus to enact whatever plan he has for getting _everyone_ back."

"_I_ can get everyone back!!" Frisk retorts. "I just need to reset!!"

"Are you sure it'll work??"

"Yes!" Her golden eyes are fierce with passionate certainty. Even when nobody believes in her, Frisk always believes in herself, Asgore realizes with a sort of startled jolt.

Asgore lets out another sigh. Frisk is going to reset however she gets back to the Milky Way. His actions hardly matter anymore. "I'll keep helping you." He gives in.

"There's a good disciple." Frisk pats his chest.

Asgore wonders briefly whether the next timeline's him will be as much of a screwup as he was. And then he shakes his head with a sad little huff and sits down to watch the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoiler comment below ;p


	23. Sickening, Weakening

Waiting is the hardest part. You can't get Papyrus's resigned disappointment out of your head. Se'Vir has contact with her now, though, and so you can only trust your team and hope Frisk takes everyone out before reaching the Aggelos.

But as the distance dwindles to half a day between Frisk and the Aggelos' last known position, Se'Vir gets desperate and comes up with a crazy idea. It's better than waiting around for something that might possibly not happen, and your teammates, Fred and Qeu, don't argue when you volunteer. At least they're being less difficult now than they were earlier.

The _Nar_, your runabout, catches up with Frisk again and latches around the hatch in the middle of warp. You slip through the hatch, then it closes behind you and the _Nar_ detaches, leaving you in the same room as the mad kidnapper of your friends. Again. Too late, you realize you forgot to put a transceiver on. You're on your own.

Frisk glances up from the helms. "Hee hee, you came back!"

You nod and sidle warily around the large sulking ball of floof in one corner. "Uh, yeah, I realized you're doing everyone a service, really."

"I am!!" She nods emphatically. "My family will be grateful after I save them again!"

"They'll love you." You agree, your imaginary tail lashing angrily.

"Hee hee, my family already loves me."

"I dunno, girl. _Love_ doesn't nearly kill you for something that wasn't your fault." You plop onto a seat, resisting the urge to buckle yourself in case of random shrapnel. Your imaginary wings tuck behind you, bolstering your morale.

"Sure it does." She retorts sweetly. "Now, traitor, why don't you tell me the real reason you're here?"

When you see her dart gun aimed at you, you freeze and raise your hands- if you were intimidating instead of cute, she'd be in trouble. "Heh- um. I want to go home with you!"

"So you abandoned your team?"

"It's not the first time." You shrug innocently. "I'll do anything to keep myself safe."

She grins. "Okay! You can stay awake!"

The swift mood change unsettles you. For a moment, she seemed smarter than she's been acting thus far, and now you're not sure whether it's all an act. "Thanks."

"Hmhmhm." She giggles, and the laugh drags you back into Skoria's embrace as it held the form of your mom. A strangled sound slips from your throat. "Aww, traitor, you're so cute."

"Are- are you insulting me?" You recover with a wan smile.

"How'd you know??" She demands incredulously. "Hee hee, maybe you're smarter than I thought!"

"Not smarter than you, though."

"Of course not!" She giggles darkly. "If you were, I'd have to kill you."

Your mouth dries, leaving your tongue to uncomfortably shift as you swallow. "Uh- heh-" This is going to be harder than you thought. Se'Vir's plan was for you to manipulate her into letting everyone out sooner, but now you're not so sure she's that dumb.

"Frisk, how long till we arrive?" Asgore's rumbling voice startles you into jumping a little. He's still huddled in the corner. His blue eyes meet yours and he smiles sadly. "I'm sorry for attacking you earlier, young human."

Warily, you smile back, identifying potential assistance in the old sedryn. Frisk replies, "Two hours!"

You bite back a frightened noise of protest. It should be more than that. "Wowie, uh, maybe let everyone out now?" You drop any and all subtlety down the drain in desperation.

"Hee hee, why would I do that?"

"Because- uh, because-"

"I know your runabout is following me." The honeyed vinegar in her voice chills your bones. "But I'm being nice and letting you live for now. Don't test me, hee hee."

Asgore sighs. "If she tells me to kill you, I will have no way to refuse." He tells you. Welp, no assistance from him.

"You don't wanna kill me," You plead. "I can help you. I- I can speak Aggelos."

"Aww, so can I!!" Frisk cheers.

"You can? What dialects do you know?"

She twitches. "Dialect?? There's only one language, silly!!"

"N-no, there's approximately four-hundred-and-thirty-two dialects in the Milky Way alone, and the dialect spoken by the ones we came across was a blend of twelve of the more obscure ones." You lie.

She turns to stare at you. "What?? That can't be true, I had an Aggelos frien- _Ugh_, I didn't ask you, Chara!!"

"Who's Chara?"

"My parasite." Frisk grumbles. "But they say you're telling the truth, so whatever. I guess I need you."

"You need me, so you won't kill me?"

"No."

Hope bubbles in your soul. "No, so- you know they can read inventories, too, right?"

Frisk glares at you for a moment, then grips her head and groans. "Okay, so I lied about having Aggelos friends, that was actually all Chara. And Chara says you're telling the truth. What's your point??"

"My point is, you should lock everyone into the back room before we meet with the Aggelos." You say. "You did bring enough collars, right?"

"No, dummy, I only brought one." She retorts.

You shrug. "Good thing the walls of the back room are magic-resistant, then. You just have to lock the door on them."

Frisk puffs out her cheeks and then shakes her head. "Fine, but you're helping me negotiate or I kill them."

"Y-yeah, deal." You reply. "C-can I suggest an order to taking them out?"

"What is it?"

"First Papyrus, then Toriel, Bracken, Undyne, and lastly Sans." You offer.

She grins. "Hee hee, okay. Come here." Frisk grabs your arm and drags you to the back room, then holds you in front of herself like a shield.

Frisk lets Toriel out first, disregarding your suggestion. You tense in Frisk's arms as the huge sedryn glares at you. "What have you done to my child??" She rages, fire flickering in her paws.

"N-nothing!!" You cry.

Undyne comes out and performs an impressive roundhouse kick that slams into your gut, knocking the wind out of you. "Hhhhu-" You gasp for breath. "Un-Undyne, d-don't-"

She draws a spear, glowering at you and Frisk. "Squirt, the fuck are you doing working with this cunt??"

"I- I'm helping her get you all home!" You lie for Frisk's benefit, but the words were the last things Undyne wanted to hear, so she slams the haft of the spear on your foot. "_Ow-_"

"I don't _want_ to go home, I want my son!!" Undyne growls in your face. You wish you could tell her that her son is safe on the _Liltha, _but you can't risk blowing what little cover you have.

Frisk giggles. "Having regrets?"

"N-no." Bracken and Sans appear together, fighting each other tooth and claw. Undyne shrieks in your face as Toriel demands once more why you're influencing her child. "Papyrus?" You ask hopefully.

Frisk laughs darkly, then yanks you back out of the room and slams the door shut, locking it on the chaos. "What about him?"

"You forgot he- him." You accuse, dread trickling down your spine.

"Did I? Maybe I just deleted him."

"If you did, I'll kill you!!" You cry, eyes stinging, heart pounding, terror and anger fighting in your chest.

"Hee hee, no, I didn't. Not yet." She replies sweetly. The terror overrides your anger and you drop heavily onto a seat.

Sans appears beside you, his hand clenching around your arm tight enough to bruise. "where's Paps??"

"Frisk has h- him hostage." You slouch down.

"great going, kid." Sans plops on the seat beside yours. "really, nice job."

The sarcasm stings. Worse, though, is the fact that Frisk doesn't really need you. As soon as she finds out you lied about all the different dialects, she'll kill you and possibly Papyrus too as punishment. "I'm sorry," You mumble.

"I forgive you." Frisk giggles.

* * *

Alone in the intra-dimensional cage, Papyrus sorts through her old survival gear. She knows she's being held hostage so that at least three of the captives-- Sans, Undyne, and Bracken-- will be good and not attack Frisk. She plays around with an old yet still keen butterfly knife before reaching back into the knapsack. Her hand meets a couple jars. She pulls them out and inspects them in the pale light of the torch. Moss and sea water.

There are certain rules inside an intra-dimensional cage. As the location is inside the bearer's soul, magic attacks are useless against the barriers since they cause backlash. Physical attacks ricochet. However, if an attack is not quite physical or magical, the barriers can't process whether to make it backlash or ricochet. It has a chance of piercing through. But if it leans too far one way or the other too soon, the repercussions can be devastating, so he couldn't risk doing it with everyone else inside with him.

Tonton used this method to escape Alphys. Papyrus plans to use it now. She takes a pinch of moss and soaks it in the sea water. It hovers in blue tendrils between her hands as she gently rolls the air around it, projecting magic into it and focusing as she kneads the magic into the form she desires.

As it glows indigo in her hands, the moss and water dissolving into the magic, Papyrus takes it and spears it into the barrier below herself. The barrier shudders and cracks. The weapon slips deeper, solidifying. Red light blasts in brilliant rays from Frisk's soul as the crack widens.

Papyrus grabs her knapsack, slinging it over her shoulders, then forces the now-physical weapon still deeper, twisting it as Frisk screams from outside. The soul can't hold her. Unless Frisk lets her out, the adani will die.

The cage phases away and she stumbles into the runabout, blinking as she tries to adjust to the comparatively low light after being blinded by Frisk's soul. "bro!" Sans cries.

"DON'T KILL HER!" Papyrus orders, dizzy from the forceful exit. She rubs the red glow from her sockets and sees Ryuk locking cuffs on Frisk. "THAT WORKS."

Ryuk grins at Papyrus, visibly relieved. "Hey, glad you're not dead, queen."

"Yeah? Me Too." Papyrus retorts, then says to Se'Vir over the transceiver, "We're All Out And Frisk Is Detained. We're On Our Way Back."

"set a course back to the _liltha_, kiddo." Sans orders.

Frisk struggles and whines on the ground, but Ryuk steps over her to the helm.

Se'Vir replies through the earpiece, "Glad to hear it, sir. We'll keep an eye on you."

"Ungrateful wretches!!" Frisk cries.

Papyrus scowls at her. "I'm going to take this miscreant to the back room and release everyone else. Ryuk, good work."

Sans follows him back, probably being protective. Papyrus would normally be annoyed, but these are hardly normal circumstances. She throws Frisk into the back room and lets Bracken and Undyne out, leaving Toriel inside.

"Well, That Was Not Fun." Papyrus says.

Undyne glowers at Frisk before slamming the door shut. "I'm glad it's over. Hey, Ryuk, you better be taking me back to see my son!!"

"Uh-" Ryuk stammers from the helm, familiar fear in their voice.

"What Now??" Papyrus groans and turns around.

Asgore stands beside them, the weapon that Papyrus created dwarfed by his massive paw. Ryuk tries to smile wanly as the ex-king presses the keen edge of the weapon against their throat. "I'm sorry, everyone." Asgore rumbles. "But Ryuk here made a deal with Frisk. I can not allow them to renege."

Ryuk's smile falls. Frustrated fury pounds in Papyrus's bones. "YOU CAN'T JUST FORCE US TO GO THE AGGELOS!! JUST RELEASE RYUK, ASGORE, FRISK IS DEFEATED!!" Se'Vir will hear and capture the runabout, but by then it might be too late if Asgore isn't convinced to not kill Ryuk.

"Frisk's madness is only the symptom of a deeper disease." Asgore rumbles. "If you would like to go back to the _Liltha_, then I'm afraid I must kill this adani as I promised I would."

Tears well in Ryuk's eyes. "W-wai-" Their plea is cut off by the weapon nicking their skin and drawing blood.

"Don't speak, adani." Asgore sighs. "Just negotiate with the Aggelos for use of the wormhole, and Frisk can reset when we get back. None of this will matter."

Cold horror trickles over Papyrus as she recalls thats's what her own plan was after her outburst and Ryuk's tantrum. But- not like this. This is a plan bordering on suicidal, and there's no guarantee that everyone still stuck in Andromeda will be returned when the Milky Way is reset. "That Won't Fix Anything." She says.

"Won't it??" Asgore cries.

"Pl-please-" Ryuk whimpers. Asgore growls at them, slicing deeper with the weapon.

"Let the squirt go!!" Undyne rages. "I need to get back to my son!!"

"You could have your wife back." Asgore promises.

Papyrus glances at Undyne. Instead of drooping in defeat, she bares her teeth with fury. "I had my wife and I lost her. I refuse to lose my son too!!"

"Sans. We could start over." Asgore pleads.

"nope." Sans says darkly. "i'm gonna write a note to my next self an' tell him ya betrayed my bro." Papyrus frowns, pretty sure that Sans is bluffing, but unable to tell.

"How is this a betrayal of your idiotic brother??" Asgore snaps. "I'm not betraying anyone, I'm keeping a promise I made!"

"Golly, dad, you're dumb. I'm so glad I got my brains from mom." Bracken drawls. Great. Just what the situation needed, _more_ antagonism.

"Please Let Ryuk Go." Papyrus says, holding up her hands placatingly.

Asgore does. He shoves Ryuk away, drops the weapon, and then he turns and stabs the helm with his trident, rendering it useless. Papyrus ignores that in favor of kneeling by Ryuk and pressing green fire to the wound in their neck. Asgore sliced deeper than he probably meant to, not knowing his own strength or the fragility of adani flesh. "S-sorry." Ryuk sobs and crawls into Papyrus's arms. "Th-this is all my fault."

"Silence." Papyrus says, furious with Frisk and Asgore. "I've got you."

Se'Vir replies in his earpiece, "Understood, sir. Prepare to be grappled."

Asgore turns around, head lowered sadly and trident ready. "Rise, adani."

"I- I have a name." Ryuk snaps back, gripping Papyrus tighter in their fear.

"If you don't comply, I will find another of your friends to kill. It hardly matters which one, since they will all come back-"

Ryuk snatches the weapon from the ground. The haladie fits nicely in their hand, since it was made for them. They stand up, trembling, and Papyrus draws her talwar, standing beside them, holding their hand as their pulse beats butterfly-fast under their callused skin. "No."

* * *

The runabout is on a course to the Aggelos and nobody can stop it, despite its shuddering and rocking. Asgore sighs as the adani and Papyrus face him down.

"Well, then." Asgore says, raising his trident. "Goodbye."

The adani takes a trembling step backwards, releasing Papyrus's hand. Undyne stands guard over the back room to make sure Frisk and Toriel don't get out. Sans and Bracken are both behind Papyrus, but neither of them are any sort of threat. Papyrus, the most blatant threat in the room, growls as he holds his talwar in a ready stance.

The best-case scenario would be to capture Papyrus, since the adani seems to care about him. Worst-case scenario, the adani dies and everyone else gets killed by the Aggelos. It hardly matters, though. Asgore doesn't care anymore.

Papyrus blocks the first slash of the trident, but Asgore's strength forces him back a step. The adani reaches the wall and presses against it, scared witless as Asgore blasts Papyrus with fire. They're no threat, they probably don't even know how to use the weapon in their hand. Asgore ignores them and focuses on forcing Papyrus back.

Papyrus yields before Asgore's onslaught, backing away just out of the king's reach. The runabout shudders and Asgore slams against the wall, flung by some unseen force. Papyrus somehow stays on his feet and he knocks the trident away from Asgore.

Asgore struggles to his feet and blasts fire at Papyrus, but vines bat the fireball back at himself. Bracken grins gleefully. "Golly, you wanna kill him?"

"As your king, I order you to surrender." Asgore commands.

"You're No King Of Mine!" Papyrus cries, scowling. Asgore wonders briefly where the cowardly adani went, but a stinging bone attack cuts across his muzzle, distracting him.

"heh. bad move, buddy." Sans says behind him. "ya know, i was just gonna let my awesome bro handle ya, but, eh, this promises to be more fun."

Asgore roars in frustration. "Why can't you just let Frisk reset?? She can fix everything!!"

"Fix Everything?? There's No Guarantee That Those Who Are Still In This Galaxy Will Be Sent Back!! They Could Be Stuck Here Forever!!"

Asgore shakes his head. "Why should I care!!" He snaps. His muzzle still burns where Sans struck him. He checks his own HP and winces in alarm when he sees it's falling fast. "We're the only ones who matter to Frisk!"

"Why Should _I_ Care About Who Matters To That Bitch??" Papyrus snaps. "We Have Friends And Family Whom _Frisk_ Was Perfectly Willing To Abandon!!" The runabout shudders again, like it's being- like something is dragging it.

Asgore lowers his fists at the realization that he's fighting to no avail, the fires in his palms dying down. "I- I just- wanted her to fix everything." He rumbles sadly.

Papyrus produces cuffs from his inventory and snaps them around Asgore's wrists, then clicks a suppression collar around the old king's neck. Asgore growls but submits to being restrained. As Undyne grabs his arm to put him in the back room, he glances back at the helm he destroyed.

The adani stands at the computer. They glance back at Asgore's stare and give him a heated glare- oh. Papyrus had been a distraction all along.

The door is locked behind him and he's left with Toriel and Frisk.

* * *

Released from the grappling hooks by the _Nar _and _Gaer_, Frisk's runabout heads back to the _Liltha_ under its own power now that Ryuk has managed to hack the helm from the weapons console.Undyne gives them a proud back-slap, nearly bowling them over. "Let's go home!!" Undyne cries.

"Yeah!" Ryuk makes an admirable attempt to mirror her enthusiasm.

"Not bad, squirt." Undyne says fondly, and then turns to scowl at Papyrus. "But what the fuck was that?? He could have killed you!!"

"He Didn't." Papyrus retorts, and dodges Undyne's snatch at his collar. "I Knew What I Was Doing. But Thank You For Ensuring That Toriel And Frisk Stayed In Their Room."

Undyne laughs raucously and manages to get him into a choke-hold. "Fuhuhu, you thought _that_'_s_ what I was doing?? No, punk, I was waiting for you to screw up so I could take the victory!!" She noogies Papyrus mercilessly as he yelps and struggles. 

"STOP IT!!" He cries.

"Beg for mercy, punk!!" Undyne laughs.

"NEVER!!"

"NGAAAAH!!" Undyne shouts and supplexes him into Bracken, who had been laughing at Papyrus's plight but no longer. "Punk." She kneels over Papyrus and growls at him, ditching her former cheer in favor of a furious glower. "I'm going to kill Frisk and Toriel."

"WAIT, NO, WE DON'T HAVE TO KILL HER!!" Papyrus grabs her arm before she can rise.

"What's wrong with that??" Undyne snarls and stands up anyway, shaking Papyrus's grip off. "They're both _dead_."

"i say we kill asgore, too." Sans votes, settling on a seat to nap.

Undyne can't really argue with that, although she doesn't relish the thought of killing her only father figure, despite his abusiveness. "Yeah, sure. I call dibs on Toriel."

Bracken holds up his hands. "Gee, I agree with Papyrus, you can't kill them."

"What??" Undyne growls.

"What are you, an idiot??" Bracken growls back.

"Ryuk, break the tie!!" Undyne snarls at the squirt. "Kill'em or let'em live??" She glares at them fiercely.

Ryuk glances at Papyrus. Of _course_ they'll side with him. Undyne has a curse ready on the tip of her tongue. "Uh- Frisk has some kind of rewind ability, right?" They say carefully.

"Reset, yeah." Undyne snaps. "Which is it??"

"Kill." Ryuk says. Papyrus scoffs and they cross their arms. "Because if we're going back, I don't want everyone to fucking forget everything and be stuck in- however long ago it was that Frisk fucking wants to go!!"

"You Won't Remember." Papyrus says.

"That wouldn't make it better!!" They snap back. "I- I don't want to forget you!! And- and it'll all be different, cause that's what you're planning, isn't it! Frisk remembers, and you want her to make it all different! What if I never-" They choke on a sob, on all the things they want to say but can't.

Bracken, surprisingly enough, seems to be swayed. "Golly, Papyrus, you know the only reason I don't want to kill her. If it weren't for Chara, I'd murder that bitch without a second thought."

"Oh, fuck Chara! Chara is dead, punk!" Undyne snarls. "I won't lose my son, Papyrus."

Papyrus glares at the ground. "Don't Kill Her." He says, and it's more a plea than an order. "Maybe We Can Exile Her On A Planet Somewhere."

Undyne sighs. "Toriel and Asgore too."

"Duh." Papyrus retorts, then blushes bright red and avoids looking at Ryuk. "Is It Settled, Then??"

"Yeah, punk." Undyne slaps his shoulder to show she holds no ill will towards him.

"Wonderful." Ryuk mutters. "Good to know you want to forget me."

Papyrus's blush deepens. "I- I DON'T- IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!!" He cries, flustered.

"Isn't it?? I mean, sure, why _wouldn_'_t_ you wanna forget me." Ryuk snaps.

"_WOWIE_, IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU!! I Lost A Lot Of Good People Throughout The Conflicts!! I Want Them Back!!" Papyrus cries.

Ryuk slumps, regret in their eyes as they mumble, "R-right, I- I'm sorry, that wasn't fair to you. I just- I don't want you to hate me again."

"I Don't Hate You, Ryuk." Papyrus pats their head. Undyne rolls her eye at the show of affection.

"I don't hate you, either." Ryuk mumbles, leaning into the touch.

"_OKAY_," Undyne cries. "Enough PDA, FUHUHU!! Ryuk, you go talk to Bracken, while I talk to Papyrus, let's give you lovebirds some distance!!"

Ryuk and Papyrus both splutter at her. "WE ARE NOT LO-_LOVEBIRDS!!" _Papyrus flusters.

"Y-yeah, that's just a false rumor!" Ryuk pipes up in defense.

Sans appears behind Ryuk, blinking groggily from his nap but still managing to look menacing. "what was that," He snarls, "about a rumor of you an' my bro??"

Undyne laughs at the normalcy of the situation as Ryuk desperately tries to defuse the situation. She grabs Papyrus and forces him to sit down as Bracken joins Sans and Ryuk, pissing off the former and making things worse for the latter.

"So." She hisses to Papyrus. "I've seen that look before."

"Have You??" He groans. "Don't Tell Me."

"Hey, for a squirt, they're not that wimpy anymore." She slaps his back. "They've got my blessing, although I have a feeling Sans is the one they'll have to win over."

Papyrus growls, "You're Misreading It, Undyne. We're Friends, Nothing Else."

Undyne smirks, baring all her sharp teeth. "Fuhuhu, _right_, well, if you ever need a letter delivered to them, you know to _not_ ask me!!"

"Undyne." Papyrus says somberly. "I want my people back."

"And I want Alphys back, but if it comes at the cost of losing what we have now? Then fuck time travel."

Papyrus sulks in silence, so Undyne smacks his shoulder again.

A few hours later, the runabout reaches the _Liltha_, and Undyne reunites with Ross, and everything is okay again.

* * *

A blip ventures onto Sentinel Zed-Three-Two-Seven's scanner. Z3-27, or Zest as his friends call him, alerts his Chief. The blip jerks shakily into a turn and retreats back out of scanning range again, but not before Zest gets a tracking signal on it. He reads eight lifeforms inside. Too large for a scouting party.

"Set a course to hunt them down." His Chief orders. "The Grand Erudite will want them destroyed."

Zest shudders, sparks dripping from his blue star-like form. The Grand Erudite was furious with the last triad who let trespassers out of a trap without even taking tribute. The invasion of the Dai'zhe Aggelos in the Milky Way is scheduled to be enacted in around twenty days--one trial. The Grand Erudite won't be pleased if the Vaux or Ivren catch wind of the Quasar Aggelos' abilities and interfere."Her will be done." He says in salute.

He pities the lifeforms who, knowingly or not, sealed their doom with their short foray into Aggelos territory.


	24. You Never Need Feel Broken Again

Back on the _Liltha_, Papyrus sends Asgore, Toriel, and Frisk to the brig escorted by Undyne, and drags Ryuk with her up to the bridge, leaving Sans to keep napping in the runabout. Ryuk trots along beside her, not pulling their hand from hers. Eventually, as she nears the bridge, they say nervously, "Hey, queen?"

"Yes?" She replies, preening.

"Uh- we need to talk."

Her cheer dissipates at the memory of the recent arguments. "Do We."

"Y-yeah, well, I kinda owed Esther a favor, and she's making me talk to you, so- so yeah? We do?"

She's comforted slightly by the fact that they would have preferred to avoid talking about it too, if it weren't for Esther. "Fine." She relents. Esther is usually right about things. She spots a maintenance closet and goes inside, taking Ryuk with her. "Then talk. I know you don't want to go back, but that's non-negotiable, I'm getting everyone home however I can." She says.

"I- I know." They say. "I won't translate for you." Papyrus scowls, but they continue. "But- but maybe I can teach Suzy and Se'Vir? They both picked up Ivren pretty fast."

"That would be acceptable." Papyrus relents.

They shuffle their foot. "I'm sorry. I acted like a brat because I'm terrified of Aggelos- because- because my mom was one, and I hate her, and she-" They shudder. "Well. Aggelos aren't kind."

Papyrus doesn't approve of judging an entire species based on one rotten example, but she doesn't argue with them. "I won't force you to face them." She says, patting their head. "I'm sorry for overreacting and sending you to the brig."

"Heh." They grin. "I'm not sure it was an overreaction. I mean, I am your officer, and I did lie to you on the bridge about an alien threat. So. Y'know. I probably overreacted more than you. Although you are a spiky cactus-butt, so I accept your apology."

"Are you _trying_ to make me send you back?" Papyrus growls, but she doesn't mean a single word and from the way they light up with a smirk, they know it.

"Maybe. I could at least relax in there, but thanks to Frisk, I didn't even get to finish the book Sans gave me." They pout.

"Well, I suppose you do need some time to teach Suzy and Se'Vir, so how about this. You're suspended from all duties until they're both fluent."

Ryuk hums like they're considering it but finding the deal lacking. Beads of oddly fond annoyance prick Papyrus's soul. That has to be an oxymoron, _fond annoyance_, yet she's starting to realize it's exactly what she lately feels around them most of the time. "Throw in a few dinners where you relax and get that cactus outta your pelvis, and you've got a deal." They say flippantly.

"I- I DON'T-" She flusters, affronted by their crudeness, but flattered that they're thinking of her wellbeing too. "Fine. Deal." She scowls at them, trying to hide an affectionate smile.

Their smirk glints wickedly for a moment. "This wasn't so hard."

"Why Don't You Want To Reset??" Papyrus blurts, and immediately regrets it as their smirk shuts down into frigidity.

"Because I don't want to, okay?? I don't want you to forget this- I don't want you to forget _me_. And- and yeah, okay, I'm scared too, because if Frisk goes back any further than five years, I'll be with my mom again! And I can't do that, I can't go back to her!" They say, desperate for her to listen, so she does.

"What if she just went back far enough to ensure that your mutiny never happens?" She muses.

"We can't control her time manipulation, Papyrus, there's no way to guarantee she'll listen!"

Papyrus huffs, irritated that they're right. "So, given the choice between saving several thousand lives and leaving them all behind, you'd let them stay dead??"

"It's not like we'd be better off if she did reset and change everything!! Everyone would die anyway, because that's what people do, they die! Would you really destroy everything we've managed to build so far??" Ryuk cries.

"YES!! WE'D BE BETTER OFF IF SHE CHANGED IT SO WE NEVER CAME TO THIS GODDAMNED GALAXY!!" Papyrus shrieks back.

"No, we wouldn't, because we'd lose everything!!" Ryuk's voice blazes with their anger. "You can't just decide to rewind time and make everyone forget what they lived just because you're upset some people died!!" The blaze becomes watery. "We won't be any better off because we won't remember the good times we had, the people we shared life with, so we won't value them any more than we already did."

Papyrus glares at the blurry vacuum cleaner in the corner of the dimly lit room. She doesn't want to acknowledge the sharp aching pain in her chest or the vise around her skull. Ryuk tries to take her hand. She flinches back. "I- I Need To Be Alone." She snarls before she can lash out and hurt them again.

Ryuk droops. "I'm sorry."

Tears burn Papyrus's sockets, pouring down her cheekbones as the rage and grief and pain claw like beasts in her soul. She staggers against the wall and collapses to his knees, scarcely able to breathe.

"Hey." Ryuk's voice filters through the turmoil distantly. "We're going to be okay."

"Y-YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!!" Papyrus shrieks at them. "YOU CAN'T PROMISE THAT!!"

"Okay, bitch, you're right." They say and sit down next to her, holding out a hand palm-up. "I don't know. But I do know you'll bravely face whatever challenge comes across us and do your darndest to keep everyone you love safe."

"WH-WHICH IS WHY I NEED FRISK TO RESET!!" She snaps. "IT WAS ALL FINE IN THE MILKY WAY, IT WAS ALL JUST FINE, BECAUSE I KNEW IF I FAILED A BATTLE AND LOST IT, ALL I HAD TO DO WAS KILL MYSELF AND FRISK WOULD HEAR AND LOAD HER SAVE AND THEN SHE'D TELL ME WHAT TO DO TO WIN!! I DIDN'T LOSE A SINGLE STARMA UNTIL SHE BETRAYED ME!!"

Ryuk gulps audibly. "Uh, see, I can't really relate-"

"OF COURSE YOU CAN'T. YOU'VE NEVER HAD TO BE IN COMMAND OF AN ENTIRE FLEET!!"

"B-but- that's not really- healthy." They say. "Killing yourself isn't a good response to losing someone. I think you don't know how to grieve, so you're pushing all the emotions into other things."

Papyrus growls incoherently, hating the weak tears flowing freely down her skull. "WHY DOES IT HURT SO MUCH, THEN??"

Ryuk reaches out carefully. Papyrus lets them take one of her hands and massage circles into the leather of the glove. "Because you care." They say and she feels like she's heard them say that before, after the _Paen_ was destroyed by Undyne's idiocy. "And that's a good thing. It'll always hurt, because- because losing people you care about never really heals, it scars." Ryuk taps her sternum with a gentle rap and she hiccups as she calms down. "Therapy can help with the process of going through grief, but you gotta accept that they're gone first to be able to keep living your own life."

It hurts. Their words hurt and the deaths hurt and this stupid fucking galaxy she's stuck in _hurts_, but resetting would be the easy way out of the pain. The wimpy way, as Undyne would say.

Papyrus blinks away her tears, feeling a cold and dead peace invade her soul after the maelstrom. "I Don't Think I Ever Could Live My Own Life." It was all always for Sans, or Frisk, or her duty as Admiral.

Ryuk squeezes her hand. "Well, that should change. And it's not going to if you let Frisk reset. So-" Papyrus wraps her arms around them, tugging them against her ribcage and tucking her head over their shoulder. "Uh-" Realizing she never asked, she lets go, but their arms trap her from moving away, and they pull her closer, a tight and comforting embrace that she relaxes into. "Hey. We may not be okay, but I'm glad you're my friend." Ryuk murmurs to her.

And, somehow, that's more comforting than hearing a blatant lie about the future. Ryuk's warmth lowers Papyrus's defenses, placating her in much the same way that a kitten would pacify a weaker-willed adani. Her jaws bump gently against their soft cheek, and their skin heats under the contact. "I'm Glad You're With Me." She replies.

"Uh-" Ryuk stammers, then launches into a ramble, "Y-yeah, me too. B-but not like, _with_ with, cause that would be inappropriate, I mean, heh, you're the admiral, I'm your officer, rumors aside, oh and also you're kinda vulnerable and grieving so- yeah, gonna hafta pass on that. Also I kind of betrayed you, remember, so I dunno why the fuck you'd want me." Papyrus lets go of them, tensing up, and they back off, rubbing their neck sheepishly. "Sorry, I killed the mood, but- uh. Well, we did just have an argument, and I am a coward and a traitor, so probably not the best person to kiss."

Confused, Papyrus tries to make out their expression in the dim light. "What??"

"You- uh. You kissed me." They mumble, sounding stunned.

"Oh." Papyrus says, sort of stunned herself. "Do You Want To?"

"Dude, did you literally not hear me just recite all the reasons it's a bad idea??" Their retort stings. "No, I can't kiss you, or fuck you, or date you. Now go see a therapist and for the love of Rifli _stop letting people take advantage of you_."

"I- I WAS AIMING FOR YOUR CHEEK, IT'S NOT LIKE I WANT TO DATE YOU EITHER!!" Papyrus snaps.

"Good!" They snap back. "Try again when you're healthier and maybe I'll kiss back!!"

"FINE!!" Papyrus cries.

"Great!!" Ryuk yanks her to her feet. "Now go talk to Tonton before I lose my goddamn mind."

* * *

Sans snores in Papyrus's chair on the bridge as you try to sneak past him, feeling guilty despite the kiss not being initiated by you. Sitting by Esther, you pull up the latest project and start typing away at your report. Papyrus has gone to Tonton, and you're not looking forward to her return- well, maybe a little bit.

Confusion is all you felt when she kissed you. Yeah. Warm fluffy confusion roiling around in your gut. It's not like you've never kissed anyone before. You've done far more than simple kissing with a lot of different people. Papyrus can't be another fling, though. For many reasons, the least of which being Sans's disapproval and the greatest being her current emotional vulnerability. And somewhere in between those is the fact you once led her and her starmas to their potential deaths.

She comes onto the bridge later, and she avoids looking at you. You try to do the same, but you can't help stealing nervous glances at her, unsure if she's going to shut you out now that there's an awkwardness to your still-new and fragile friendship. This day has been too busy, too packed with tension and fear and anger. Maybe you and her can just forget this past week ever happened.

"Sir," You say, forcing a cocky grin. "My report is ready."

Papyrus nods tersely and scrolls through it on her console, standing behind her chair since Sans is still asleep on that. "Good Work, Lieutenant." She says.

You're offended that she's addressing Esther for your work and you stand up to snap at her, but then drop back into your seat quickly when you notice Suzy glaring at you. "Uhhh. What."

Papyrus nods thoughtfully as she reads the report. She looks up and sees your confusion. "What?"

"I'm an Ensign." You supply helpfully, just in case she's gotten mixed up.

"No, You See, Lieutenant-Commander Se'Vir Proposed I Promote You For Your Ingenuity And Bravery." Papyrus says, somehow managing to look stern and proud at the same time. "I'm Going To Promote Mil-Gwedh To Commodore, Anyway, So Don't Feel Singled Out."

"Oh," You manage to say. "Thanks."

"This Does Mean More Responsibilities, Of Course." Papyrus smirks.

"Of course." You're only slightly dazed. Esther pats you on the back encouragingly and you nearly fall over. "I mean- yes, sir."

"And As It Is Inappropriate For A Lieutenant To Share Quarters With An Admiral Due To The Optics And Power Imbalance Of Such A Set-up, You Will Be Moving Into Lieutenant Esther's Quarters. And Please Don't Steal Her Closet."

"Yes, sir." You say. This is a good thing. It's good she's distancing herself from you. But knowing that doesn't make the sting of rejection less painful. Does this mean she doesn't want to be friends anymore?? Confusion again clouds your head and hurts your chest. "Hey, Esther, wanna sleep together?" So you cope by being an ass. Again.

"Not really, no." Esther shoots you down with a gentle smile, but Papyrus has already choked and turned red. Damage done, and you can't even feel proud about it.

"You want someone to fuck?? I'll fuck you." Suzy snarls, lashing her tail.

"Sure, hate-sex could be fun." You agree. Papyrus wheezes and you almost feel bad for her. "What's wrong, queen?"

"N-NOTHING!!" Papyrus cries in much too high a volume. "I'M GOING TO TALK TO TONTON, GOOD DAY!!" And she storms off the bridge.

"So are we talking kinky or what?" You ask Suzy.

"No negotiating on the bridge, please!" Se'Vir cries, blue feathers ruffling in disdain. "Save it for when you're not on-duty."

"Yes, sir." You say. "Uh, I'm technically not on-duty because I'm supposed to be teaching you and Suzy how to speak Aggelos. Can I flirt then?"

Se'Vir gives you a look like he's seriously regretting his suggestion to promote you. "No." He says with an angry flare of his tail-feathers.

You droop. "Yes, sir."

"It's bad enough you flirt with the Admiral every time he's around you." Se'Vir continues. You tense up, glancing guiltily at the sleeping Sans. "Honestly, can't you keep your sex life separate from your professional duties??"

"We're not together." You mumble.

"I know that." Se'Vir says, a bit gentler. "But you should remember that and keep it that way."

The words hurt. You glare at the ground, your defenses activated by an _authority figure_ telling you _to not do something._ "Maybe we will be." You mutter under your breath to appease your own rebellious desires without risking getting into trouble for them. And nobody hears you except possibly Esther, who gives you a sympathetic pat before turning back to her own work.

Moving into Esther's quarters isn't the worst development ever, since she lets you put your nest in the closet. And you learn Suzy's bed is wonderfully bouncy, so you and she end up just bouncing on the bed and then eating popcorn and drinking cranberry vodka as you watch old Miriel dramas on her holo-net access. It works out, since you didn't really want to have sex with her either.

You leave Suzy's quarters sleepy and ever-so-slightly drunk and stagger down the hall. You find your quarters and slide the door open quietly, giggling under your breath as you tuck your wings behind you and sheathe your claws. Then you slip into your closet and drop onto the hard floor- wait, where's your nest?? You grumble to yourself incoherently, then decide to sleep on the couch instead. You crawl over to that and curl up on it.

A hard bony hand grabs your wrist and yanks you off. You yelp at the adrenaline intrusion of your sleepiness. "What?? I didn't do it??"

"shush, kid." Sans. Wait, what's he doing in Esther's- wait, which room did you go into?? "wanna tell me what you're doin' on Paps's couch??"

"Uhhhh. Sleeping??" You giggle as your own voice slurs between your fangs.

"nope. this ain't yer room anymore." A flash of black surrounds you and you're in the hall again. You gag and barely manage to swallow back the bile rising in your throat. "stay away from Paps, ya hear me?"

"Whyyy??"

"i realized you've been corrupting him." Sans says darkly. "no more. i ain't gonna stand for that."

"Would you sit?" You laugh, realizing distantly that you're very drunk, so drunk that you're dissociating from your stupid squishy adani body. "Dude, asshole, is this about her girl- _ness_?"

"i don't see how that matters. and besides, Paps is not a girl, and i ain't gonna let you convince him otherwise." Sans snaps.

"Cause she's a hot girl." You mumble, ignoring him. "I'd totally kiss her again."

"you- you what." Sans says in a dull tone, which should be a warning sign, but you're too far gone to appreciate it.

"It's too bad she hates me now." Tears well in your eyes.

"of course she hates you, pal." Sans snarls. The nickname hints to his anger, you note, and then you giggle because you were starting to get sick of being called a kid, since you're an adult, and a very adulty adult at that. "and you're in deep fucking trouble now, buddy. no wonder Paps wanted ya outta his room, ya fucking assaulted him!"

"Wh-whaa-?" You boop the bridge of his nasal cavity. Both sockets are pitch black. "She- she kissded me." You explain with the patience of a saint who's had one or five too many cranberry vodkas.

"fuck no, sh- _he_ wouldn't kiss ya, pal, yer lying." Sans says harshly. "and stop calling him a _her_, for stars' sake."

"B-but she's a lady." You say, confused. "Lovely lady~!" A sharp sting on your cheek warns you that he might not be too pleased with you right now. "Ow," You mumble, wondering how hard he slapped you to make it hurt despite your scales- which you don't have, thanks to _mom_.

"yer drunk, kid." Sans says, slightly softer than before. "i'm gonna tell Paps about ya gettin' drunk. he'll deal wit' ya. and i don't wanna hear any more of this nonsense about him bein a girl."

"What's wrong with being a girl??" You demand, swaying and trying to peer at him as your vision goes all wonky and swirly.

"nothin', my bro's just not one of them."

"Maybe she is." You say and pat his head sagely. "Maybe she's a pretty girl and you're an asshole."

"i ain't arguin' with ya when yer drunk, kid." Sans says. "go to your room."

"Yes, _dad_." You grumble, then puff up haughtily. "Some lo-lovin' father you are, never- never listening to or- or res-reshpectating me."

Sans chokes on air and you open your mouth to tell him he's a century-old mosquito fart, giggling at the imagery- _or olfagery??,_ but he's gone.

You frown, confused as to why you're not in your nest already. Your vision tunnels as you try to remember how many drinks you had. And then you pass out.

Some time later, awareness filters in as you shift groggily on a couch with a blanket wrapped cozily around you. The movement was a mistake, as spears pierce your head and nausea burns your stomach and throat.

"Well." Papyrus says sternly. You wince and curl in on yourself sheepishly, steeling yourself to weather her powerful volume. "You Don't Seem To Have Learned Your Lesson." She doesn't raise her voice, though, and so your migraine remains at a barely manageable threshold.

"S-sorry." You mumble, sitting up cautiously. "I didn't fuck Suzy, we just- sorta made friends, I guess."

"I- I DON'T CARE WHO YOU FUCK!!" Papyrus cries, flustering, and you groan as the knives in your brain twist deeper.

"Ow- okay- I'm sorry for b-being an ass."

"I Forgive You." She says. "I'll Forgo Disciplinary Measures For Both You And Suzy This Once. But Don't Let It Happen Again."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, Get Out Of My Room."

You blink blearily. "O-oh, right." You say, glum now that you remember _why_ you were being a brat and getting drunk. "Is this because you kissed me and I temporarily rejected you?"

"N-No??" Papyrus stomps a foot. "Y-You're A Lieutenant Now, I Can't Let You Be Sullied By Rumors Of Sucking My Non-Existent D-_Dick_ To Rise In The Ranks!!"

"Oh." You mumble. "Okay." Then you squint. "Are you a girl?"

Papyrus freezes, turning red, then retorts instead of answering, "D-Do You Really Think Of Sans As A Father Figure?? Because That's Really Not A Healthy Or Smart Thing To Do!!"

It's your turn to freeze and heat up. "Uh- heh, where'd you hear that??"

"N-NOWHERE??" Papyrus cries. "SO- SO DON'T ASK STUPID QUESTIONS!!"

"Ow-" You moan. Papyrus has the decency to look slightly guilty. "I was just wondering. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, but it's not like I'd tattle on you."

"I- I Know That." The admiral grumbles. "It's Just- It's Not What Sans Wants, And He's My Older Brother, And- And Stars, Why The Fuck Should I Live My Life For Him??"

"Yeah!! _Fuck_ authority!!" You cry, pumping your fist in the air, then wince as your migraine reminds you of its presence like menacing lightning stabbing a tree.

"I'm Not Sure Fucking Authorities Would Do Any Good." Papyrus grumbles.

"I mean, it works for me?" You offer the jest nervously.

Papyrus huffs with a twinkle of amusement. "Not For Long, You Scalawag!!" Then sobers and says, "I- I Think I Am A Girl."

"I knew it!!" You cry.

Papyrus preens while trying to look severe. "Don't Let Sans Know."

"Okay, queen."

She frowns. "I Like My Name." 

You reassure, "You don't have to change it if you don't want to."

"But I Think I Want To Try A More Girly Name Too." She continues, cheekbones turning pink again.

You shrug encouragingly. Mil-Gwedh named you after a shinigami from an old adani legend about a book that could kill people. "Legends are cool places to get names from." You tell her. "Religions, too."

"Wonderful." She says, then spins and strides to her kitchenette, to start brewing coffee. "I Expect Suzy And Se'Vir To Learn Aggelos Quickly! Don't Slack Off."

"Yes, sir!" You salute her, trying to push away your creeping invasive fear of the Aggelos.

"And No More Getting Drunk, Is That Clear??" She glowers at you. "If I'm Supposed To Be Coping In Healthier Ways, I Expect You To Do The Same. And I Refuse To Kiss Someone Who Smells Like Vodka."

"_Eep_-" You squeak in startled shock at her words, then recover, "What about sake?" She picks up a frying pan and flips it in the air, a menacing twinkle in her stern smile. You take the hint and retreat from her room, still understandably stunned. "Okay, asshole, I'll- uh, see ya." The door slides closed behind you and you collapse against it, limbs light and glowing. "What."

* * *

MK sighs as he hands pain medication to Ryuk. "Seriously, you fucker, you should have invited me. I can_ handle_ my vodka, yo, and I woulda gotten you to your room instead of letting you wander around the ship like a fucking tomcat."

"I'm not a tomcat!" Ryuk protests indignantly, then continues rather more sheepishly, "That was one time, Mil-Gwedh."

"Your yowling woke the goddamned Rexashun Slugs up, yo, you _know_ they sleep through anything." MK retorts. That was certainly a night to remember. "And you nearly summoned a demon." He recalls. "Yo, actually, remind me to never let you near a grimoire ever again."

"We don't _know_ it was a demon." Ryuk grumbles. "Coulda been a nice spirit."

MK wants to slap them. So he does, lightly, on their head. "Most spirits are amoral, you dumbass, they have their own agendas, yo, and you can't trust them." He realizes belatedly that somehow Ryuk got him off-topic and distracted him from scolding them. "But anyway!! You didn't invite me!!"

"I thought we were going to fuck!!" Ryuk retorts. "I wasn't going to invite you when I thought it would end in sex!!"

"But you didn't, yo, you bounced on a bed and got drunk watching dramas. I'm jealous."

"Aww, does the widdle fuckuh wanna watch dwamas with his one twoo wuuuv??" Ryuk singsongs mockingly.

"Yes, dammit!!" MK cries, stomping his foot. Ryuk just looks at him. Then they burst out laughing, and MK is forced by his traitorous body to join them with loud guffaws.

Papyrus comes down a few hours later, as MK is reading in his office with nothing else to do. "Ah, Doctor." Papyrus calls.

"Yo, what do you want??" MK retorts, irritated as he loses his place in the book. It's a hardcover, rare in a starship, one that Ryuk- er, _acquired_ for him.

"We're Holding The Ceremony Now." Papyrus says.

"Oh, yeah." MK grabs his green scarf and wraps it around his neck, then runs out the door, nearly barreling into Papyrus.

"Wowie, I Haven't Seen That On You For A Long Time." Papyrus notes.

"Yeah?? I ditched it because you were a fucking asshole, yo." MK retorts. "But in light of your apology and attempts to be a better person-" And _totally_ _not_ because Luon saw a picture of him wearing it and thought it was hot- "I commissioned a new one."

"What Happened To The Old One?" Papyrus asks nervously.

MK remembers. Oh, he remembers burning it, the ashes that he used to prank Ryuk into thinking for a whole day Sans was dead, and then flushing the ash-covered quantum physics/joke book out into space as Ryuk's revenge against Sans for going along with the plan. "Yo, I sold it to a trader." He lies.

"Oh." Papyrus says.

The ceremony is really not a big deal. MK would be embarrassed if the entire ship made a big deal of his rank being raised to effectively equal that of a _Commodore_. He's a doctor. He doesn't need rank. He keeps telling that to Papyrus, but the Admiral doesn't seem to care. Or if he does, it's with a wicked smirk.

"I Need _Someone_ To Take Care Of My Goddamn Fleet If Undyne And I Are Both Incapacitated Again." Papyrus retorted once. MK never protested again.

Ryuk stands beside him, shifting awkwardly in their new uniform. They elected to wear it in a more femme style today. MK pats their shoulder and they grin back nervously and greet him with a, "Yo."

"Hey, yo, that's _my_ thing." MK retorts.

Cuina squawks, coming up with Tonton on MK's other side. Papyrus decided to enlist the ivren and make Tonton the official shipboard counselor, so they're here too. There's a couple other people earning promotions as well, but MK doesn't know them by name.

The ceremony passes quickly, just an exchange of salutes and brooches. MK receives the wolf-head pin of a commodore, and salutes his Admiral as Papyrus attaches it to his uniform.

Ryuk gets the swan pin of a Lieutenant and Papyrus blushes slightly as he attaches it over their chest. MK waggles his brows at Ryuk when Papyrus isn't looking, and Ryuk bleps back while flipping him off discreetly.

The next few days pass in a blur as a lower-ranked doctor transfers from another ship to train under MK to take his place as the _Liltha_'s Head Medical Chief. As a commodore, MK's duties shift from taking care of sickbay to learning how to direct and care for more than one starship. He'll start out with control of four ships, including the _Liltha_, while Undyne has nine. This will enable Papyrus to focus more on controlling the fleet as a whole than on just the _Liltha_, since he lost his previous commodore.

MK sits up on the bridge, gravitating towards the tactics console. Nobody protests him taking that position, as Se'Vir and Suzy both seem to be fighting over the coms console, until finally Papyrus has had enough and orders them to share. The fleet is on its way to explore a nearby M class planet in Vaux space to restock and refuel while everyone prepares to encounter the Aggelos again.

A day away from the planet, one that seems to be mostly shallow seas with a few rainforests here and there, MK perks up as three blue blips appear suddenly on the scanner. "Admiral," He calls. "Three ships at octants one, four, and eight, each three thousand kilometers away bearing parallel!"

"Cloak." Papyrus orders. "It's probably the Ivren."

MK flips the switch as Se'Vir and Suzy call the rest of the fleet to relay the order. Something few people ever knew about him was that he went to university to learn tactics and strategy in space, but then dropped out right before graduating because of his sister's death and became a self-taught medical professional before joining Papyrus on the _Liltha_ five years ago. So, being on the bridge again, in control again, makes him bounce on his seat with excitement.

"Scatter and alter course," Papyrus calls. "To route dub-seven." Whenever Papyrus's fleet charts a course to another location, they always chart multiple routes just in case a starship has to break away, or in case evasive maneuvers are needed. The officer at helms, Ensign M'rer, obeys the order to alter course, while Suzy informs the fleet of the order to break apart and go separate routes. 

"Uh," Ryuk pipes up. "I don't think that's the Ivren."

The foreign ships have altered course along with the _Liltha_ and close in steadily. A small pit of excited dread forms in MK's gut.

"Don't Panic." Papyrus orders. "Se'Vir, Get Nurse Ria On The Bridge Before You Open A Channel."

"Yes, sir."

Ria enters a few minutes later. A channel opens and MK frowns at the blue star-like lifeform on the screen. "Wait, isn't that an Aggelos??" He cries. Ria shrugs upon seeing she's useless, and sits down in the back, ignored by all but MK, who waves at her.

Papyrus clenches his fists. "Suzy? Se'Vir? Are Either Of You Prepared?"

"I know more than she does." Se'Vir says and then tries to speak haltingly to the alien with what sounds like coughing. Ryuk sighs and facepalms, sliding down deeper in their seat.

The alien speaks back with harsh grating bursts of static. MK stares at it. There's no way Se'Vir can replicate that noise. He doubts _he_ could replicate that noise.

"You- you don't have to speak his language." Ryuk mumbles. "He understands you."

"Oh." Se'Vir's tail flicks with momentary embarrassment. "Er, what did he say?"

Ryuk sighs. "He said he wants the trespassers."

"But we didn't trespass!!" Suzy snarls back.

"Technically we did." Ryuk points out, their voice trembling despite their seemingly-relaxed demeanor. If MK stares at them closely, he can see their hands twitching like they want to clench into fists. "We must have done it again or they wouldn't have come after us."

"We Didn't Mean To Trespass." Papyrus snaps at the Aggelos. "That Was Completely Accidental Again And We Left As Soon As We Figured Out Our Mistake."

The Aggelos speaks again and Ryuk translates once more, "He's still mad and he wants tr-tribute."

"What Kind Of Tribute??"

"He wants to know how many different species we have in our fleet." Ryuk mumbles. "The tribute would be one specimen per."

MK stares, horrified, as Papyrus seems to actually consider the deal. "Yo- yo, you can't!"

"Silence." Papyrus snaps. "Would simple genetic samples be acceptable??" MK relaxes at that.

Ryuk perks up at the Aggelos's answer. "Y-yes? He says yes."

Papyrus nods, then speaks directly to the Aggelos, "Now, What Would You Like In Return For One-Time Use Of A Wormhole To Get Back To The Milky Way?"

The Aggelos's static becomes a painful overwhelming cacophony. MK covers his ears and sees the other officers doing the same. Ryuk stands up. "Please, forgive us!" They cry. "Our leader is bluffing-"

"No, I'm Not!! We Want To Go Home!!"

"Yes, but you could have been more tactful!!" Ryuk retorts. "Now you pissed him off because we're not supposed to know!!"

"How did you know, then??" MK demands. He knows their mom was Aggelos, but they never mentioned her knowing how to control _wormholes_.

"Because Aggelos came from a different galaxy!" They snap, then flinch at another burst of static and shriek, "Evasive!!"

M'rer hesitates, looking to Papyrus, but just as MK is about to yell at them to listen, a shockwave hits the ship. The screens and consoles flicker out. The familiar rumble of the fusion-core engines goes silent as the _Liltha_ speeds through space, an unstoppable mass of metal headed directly into the star a day away, unless the planet or a moon gets in their way first.

"Get The Engines Back Online!!" Papyrus orders, visibly panicking. "Try To Contact The Fleet!!"

A hologram appears in the center of the bridge. The Aggelos speaks through it, flickering blue and green.

"We're sentenced to death." Ryuk mumbles. 

MK stares at the hologram. "Death?? Hey, yo, you can't do that!! We didn't do anything!! It's your fault we're in this goddamned galaxy in the first fucking place, so fucking let us go home!!"

"Suzy!!" Papyrus cries. "Order Everyone Into Evacuation Mode!! Se'Vir, I Want You To Get Ten Teams And Ready Them For Battle!! We'll Beam Onto Their Ships If We Have To!! MK, Aim Our Grappling Hooks At The Closest Ship And Fire Indiscrimi-!"

Ryuk shouts, "Wait!!" just as the hologram implodes.

And everything goes agonizingly white.


	25. It Takes An Inner Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: sex

The sentenced ship explodes with flares of white fire that blaze out quickly and bursts of shrapnel, all contained within a repulsor field. Zest flickers dimmer for a moment, saddened by the deaths. His superiors and colleagues think nothing of the destruction, but Zest has never enjoyed the mindless killing of lifeforms deemed lesser by the Grand Erudite.

Chief X-1 orders the first rewind. Zest must obey, though he doesn't like the cruel practice of forcing the trapped prisoners to relive their death over and over again. Inside the repulsor field, the ship and personnel shift through the time-states to before they were notified of the death sentence.

A channel opens from the doomed ship. The Chief scoffs, about to deny it. They'll just be trying to beg for their lives, after all. Zest answers it before his Chief can give him the order. "We can't spare you." He says apologetically. "You know of our capabilities. We can't allow that knowledge to get out."

"Grant Us A Deserted M Class Planet To Settle And We Will Remain There In Exile." The leader says after one of its subordinates translates. "You Don't Have To Kill Us."

Zest looks to his Chief. "The minimum sentence requires three rewinds before we can release the culprits." X-1 says. "But I will grant their boon after we have reached that."

"Will You Allow Us To Live?" The leader asks.

"In grounded exile, yes. Your ships will be taken away and your technology erased. _After_ two more executions." Zest says.

The leader responds coldly, "Then Do It," despite its subordinates' obvious panic and terror.

Zest pauses before sending the order to the weapons bay to execute the ship again. "Sir, can't we let them go?" He asks Chief X-1. "They technically haven't done anything wrong, and our mind-probes confirmed the trespassing was the fault of one lifeform."

The chief lets out a sharp susurration of static. "The Grand Erudite won't be pleased. Our invasion is scheduled for next trial, and you know she hates interferences."

"In-invasion?" One of the doomed ship's subordinates pipes up. "H-hey, we, uh, we can help!"

Zest stares at it. "How would you be helpful??"

"We have cloaking tech, and we're pretty inconspicuous! We can go unnoticed and spy on your enemy. And then maybe in return, you- uh, you can let us go home?"

Zest sputters thoughtfully. Chief X-1 dims, considering the deal. "Well. It's not _wrong_." X-1 says finally. "This fleet would make for an interesting distraction for our targets in the Milky Way."

"Is- is it a deal?"

"We will contact our Grand Erudite and propose it to her." X-1 says. "In the meantime, go to the M class planet you were originally headed for and wait there."

"Yes, sir."

"I'll let your engines come back on now." Zest says, brightening encouragingly. "Be good."

"Heh." The channel closes.

"Sir, are you really just going to let them go?" Scholar W-R asks, concern in her green-tinged light.

X-1 replies with a flicker of amusement, "Did you see their desperation? They will make a good distraction, and then they will perish."

Sometimes Zest wonders whether these _lesser lifeforms_ are actually people too. But such thinking is traitorous and punishable by at least five deaths if he were to actually propose giving rights to such lifeforms. So he stays silent.

* * *

You stagger back and drop into your seat again, shaking from the memory of terror and death and bright agony. "The engines should come back online." Heh, you've died twice now.

Papyrus collapses into her chair with a clatter of bones, gathering the rattling Sans into her arms. "We're Okay." She says to everyone. "They're Letting Us Go, Right, Ryuk?"

"Y-yeah." You say, forcing a grin and locking the memories behind a glass wall to deal with later. "Ensign M'rer, can you keep going towards that M class planet? We've gotta rejoin the fleet." M'rer salutes, which disorients you for a moment. Then they actually listen. You ramble on, "Uh. I think we all need to retire for the moment and maybe party, just re- I mean _unwind_. Cause dying is pretty, y'know, traumatic and shit, so maybe don't flood Tonton, cause he's died too, just- uh, talk with each other? Share feelings, all that?"

Esther nods with a weak smile. "I- I agree." She says. You pat her shoulder. She's trembling.

"Hey, we're okay now. They're not going to kill us again." You reassure her. "And well, while we will be potentially used as spies in their next battle, they'll repay us by sending us home, so that's cool, right?"

Esther stares at you. "Uh-buh." She manages to splutter. "What."

"Oh." You fake innocence. "Did I not translate that bit?"

"N-no??"

So you tell everyone about the deal, but leave out the rather important detail about the invasion being spearheaded _in the Milky Way itself_. It's better they don't know that until it's too late.

Suzy and Esther leave first, supporting each other out the door. Se'Vir and M'rer leave shortly after, but not together. You look over to MK, who's holding up about as well as can be expected after just dying mere minutes ago.

"You okay?"

"Yo. No, I'm not fucking okay, we _died_!!" MK shrieks.

"Go kiss Luon and cry with him, or whatever it is you dorks do." You grab him and drag him towards the door.

"Fine, yo! Get the fuck off me!!" MK snaps and bats you away.

You turn to Papyrus and Sans. "C'mon, asshole, queen, it's okay now, you're safe again, you didn't stay dead-"

"i ain't a queen, kid." Sans grumbles weakly.

"I didn't call you one." You retort. The light of realization flickers in his sockets as he chuckles. "It's all okay, we're gonna get home."

"welp, guess i should say good work, kiddo." Sans says. Papyrus seems to be dissociating, which isn't good. "bro, c'mon, let go of me so i can shortcut us to yer room."

Papyrus's only response is to growl and tighten her embrace around Sans. "Looks like you're stuck." You say, giggling hysterically until you manage to cut it out and return to _not thinking _about the recent death.

"no duh."

"Wasn't talking to you."

"wow, thanks, kid."

You pick Papyrus up bridal-style. She's light, as are most sedryn since they don't have much physicality. Sans makes a noise of protest as he's dragged along with Papyrus, and she's not letting him go any time soon. "Okay, bitch, we're going to your room. Sans is here. Undyne is okay. Everyone is okay now."

She growls again, struggling to make herself understood. Sans huffs as he's hauled like a precious sack of potatoes. "kid, there's no way you can get her- _him_ outta panicking."

"It might help if you weren't a dick about her gender." You retort.

"i ain't bein' a dick, i just know my bro better than anyone else and he ain't a girl, so drop it afore i get mad." Sans snaps.

Now isn't really a good time to slap him, so you just sigh as you slide open the door to Papyrus's quarters. Going over to her bed, you plop her in and start to pull the blankets over her and Sans. She tugs your arm, yanking you into the bed with her. "Okay." You shrug and move to cuddle her. Sans kicks you and squirms until he's in-between you and Papyrus.

"back off." He growls, but a moment later is snoring, sound asleep, so you sneak your fingers to Papyrus's hand-- you'd prefer talons, but you'll make do with what you've got.

She squeezes back, gazing at you over Sans's thick skull. "Thank you." She says softly.

"Uh- y-yeah." The warmth of her gaze nearly makes you confess, '_uh, so, we're gonna have to fight your old empire probably, sorry, bye_'. But you elect in favor of not ruining the mood, and instead just relax and roll Sans over so that he's not in your way anymore. Papyrus cackles quietly and then cuddles you, who snuggles back as you fall apart inside before falling asleep.

A rough grip shakes you awake much later and drags you out of the bed. "kid, i swear," Sans grumbles.

"Heeyyy." You whine and try to crawl back into bed. Sans grabs you by the nape and then uses one of his dumb shortcuts to take you to his cluttered room. Rebelliously, you kick one of the piles of stinky socks. Sans glares at you.

"look, pal, you ain't messin' with my bro's heart, he's had enough hurt him already and he don't need you to hurt him _more_."

"I know!!" You snap. "I'm not messing with her heart." _Yet._ "She's had a lot of stress and grief which is partially my fault, so yeah, I'm not _dumb_ and I'm not _manipulative_, two things you're being pretty well all on your own!!"

"he ain't a fuckin' girl." Sans snarls in your face. You cross your arms and glare back. "he's _my_ bro, he's my amazing great powerful bro, and yer not gonna- i won't let ya take him away!"

Raising one eyebrow, you note coldly, "So you've idealized your sibling and now can't process the fact that you never knew her as well as you thought you did." Sans tenses, pupils blowing black. "Whoop-de-fuckin'-doo. Get over yourself."

"kid, yer crossin'-"

"I'm not a kid." You interrupt him. "I could be fucking your sister and it would be none of your business because we're two fucking adults who can make our own decisions for who we are and who we want to fuck. So yeah. Fuck off, _dad_."

Sans splutters, "he ain't my fuckin' _sist_-" so you smack him. He staggers, shock tightening his grin.

You shake your stinging hand and scowl at him. "That's for her."

Sans just stares at you, pressing a hand to his cheekbone. You shove past him and stomp to the door. "pal, you listen here, Paps's just confused, don't encourage him in this, yer a bad enough influence already. so stay away from him, capiche??"

"Nope." You retort and leave to the mess hall. Sans doesn't follow you. Which is good, because you tend to get reckless when you're angry. And if you get reckless, you might do something dumb, like kiss the hell out of Papyrus.

* * *

Staring at her tablet, Papyrus considers the invitation on the screen. Esther and Luon are holding a dance party in the mess hall to help everyone unwind and distract them from literally _dying_ only a day ago. Papyrus has trouble processing it herself, even though she knows she's died before to make Frisk reset. The difference is she doesn't remember those deaths. A cold sense of horror infringes on her soul. Frisk remembers every single death and Papyrus never really appreciated that. It's hardly a wonder that Frisk has retreated into a simplified mindset of believing herself to be a messiah-figure.

Papyrus huffs and notes down to have Esther schedule Tonton to give Frisk therapy. But the matter still weighs on her, so she heads to the brig to speak with Frisk personally.

Frisk doesn't acknowledge her when she enters. "Hello." Papyrus says. "I Hope Your Food Is Alright."

"It's fine." Frisk mutters.

Papyrus hems, tapping one boot on the floor. Then blurts, "I'm Sorry."

Frisk glances up at Papyrus, surprised. "Why?" She asks bitterly. "Why would the _great_ and _terrible_ Papyrus be sorry for capturing a _rotten_ _human_."

"Because I'm Not As Great And You're Not As Rotten As I Thought. And- You Died A Lot. Not Directly Because Of Me, But- Well, I Didn't Exactly Help You Either." Papyrus says, tapping her fingers together.

Frisk puffs out her cheeks and blows a raspberry, then grins with fake cheer. "Great, you're sorry, apology accepted! I guess you want a hug now." She rolls onto her feet. "Is that what you expect me to say?? You _beat me up_ and _threw me in a shed_."

"You Killed Us All And Controlled Our Lives For _Decades_." Papyrus snarls back. "You Think You're The _Hero_?? You're Barely Even An Extra Now."

"I _was_ your hero!!" Frisk shrieks. "I forgave you all for murdering me again and again!!" She sobs. "And at least y-you never had to _remember_ dying. B-but you all abandoned me. Again. And again. Nobody came. Hee hee, that's why I had to get you back! I- I just wanted my family back!!"

Once, maybe only a few months ago, Papyrus would have retorted viciously. She would have torn Frisk apart with no regards given to the emotional and mental damage _she herself _caused. Papyrus presses a hand to her head. "We're not your family, Frisk." Tears bloom in Frisk's eyes. "A real family wouldn't kill each other. A real family wouldn't control each other's lives." Papyrus continues. "You don't have to give up on having a family, Frisk, just- just give up on us. Find your own family, people who love you, who can support you."

Frisk sags onto the cot against the wall. "You know what would have been really helpful?" She says in a dull dead tone, then regains fire as she snaps, "You telling me that _before_ abandoning me! I reloaded _so many goddamn times_ for you, Papyrus, and not even because you asked me too, no, it had to be because you kept fucking _killing yourself!!_ You could have just fucking _asked_!!"

Papyrus stares at the floor, gaze following a fascinating swirl in the metal. "I Have Been Told That Wasn't The Best Coping Mechanism. I Apologize, Frisk."

Frisk lets out a sobbing laugh. "Y-you aren't even going to let me come home."

"That Wasn't My Call. Undyne would prefer you to be _dead._"

"I'd prefer to be dead too, okay??" Frisk cries. "Do you think I _want_ to be stuck on a planet alone with Toriel and Asgore?? At least with the Vaux I could hide from her! You have no idea what she's done to me."

Shame heats Papyrus's spine. Instead of turning it into anger, she lets it be. "You're Right. I Don't. I- I Can't Just Let You Reset, Though."

"Why not??" Frisk snaps. "I could fix everything!! I could make it all better!"

"Because-" Papyrus stops, torn. Then she relents after thinking it over a minute. "Because I'd Have To Hide You. And Then You'd Have To _Not Do Anything Stupid_."

Frisk's eyes light up hopefully. "I won't. I promise."

"We're Going To Help With An Invasion For The Aggelos." Papyrus tells her. "You're Going To See Tonton For Therapy While Everyone Is Preparing. Don't Tell Him The Plan. And Join The _Alaco_ Later. Nobody You Know Will Be There."

Frisk grins. "That's a wonderful idea!"

Papyrus preens at the praise and unlocks her cell. She ignores the wiggling of discomfort at the back of her mind that says she's betraying Undyne and Ryuk.

Frisk skips away to go see Tonton. Work done, Papyrus heads to the dance party.

Ryuk cheers when she opens the door. They've got a drink in one hand and a few cards in another. Oh. And they're partially naked. Papyrus's bones heat as they grin at her. The other three playing cards with Ryuk are Luon, MK, and Esther, and all have less clothes on than Ryuk.

"WH-WHAT SCANDALOUS GAME ARE YOU PLAYING??" Papyrus shrieks, covering her eyes.

"Strip poker! Adani style." Ryuk says, sounding disappointed at the last part. "Wanna play?"

"NNNNH- F-FINE, I WON'T BE BEATEN BY SOME AMATEURS, EVEN IF YOU'RE ONLY WEARING S-SOCKS!!" Papyrus cries, flustering despite herself.

"You don't have to." Ryuk says, face darkening slightly. "We can switch it to regular poker."

"Fuck, no!" MK cries. "Yo, strip or you're a whiny loser!!"

"Technically the losers have to strip, so it's 'yo, _don't_ strip or you're a whiny loser'." Ryuk retorts. Esther chuckles and makes room for Papyrus between herself and Ryuk.

Papyrus sits down. "I Will Play, But Since I Am So Great At This Game, I Am Sure To Not Strip At All!!" She cackles, glad for the distraction after the heavy talk with Frisk- which she _isn't_ thinking about.

"We'll see." Ryuk flashes Papyrus a cocky grin and deals her in after the round is over.

Papyrus knows Ryuk was mostly responsible for tilting the game against Skoria. But she's sure Ryuk underestimates her bluffing power. Ryuk smirks at her as MK swears colorfully at his own hand. Papyrus smirks back.

Ryuk shrugs gracefully when they lose the round. They remove their shirt in one fluid movement. MK and Luon neck each other, both only wearing boxers and socks. Papyrus nearly regrets coming, but something keeps her from leaving. Ryuk makes a wild gesture as they laugh at something Esther said, and the movement draws Papyrus's gaze to their soft-seeming stomach. She's sure they would be firmer than they look if she tried to touch them, since they've been making great progress in training.

She blushes, shaking the intrusive thoughts away as Ryuk deals another round. Ryuk's shoulder brushes hers and warmth remains behind. Embarrassment. That's all this is. She's embarrassed to be playing _strip poker_ with her friends.

Friends. She has friends. She stares at Ryuk. Her _friend_. Yeah, that's why she feels so warm and fluffy. She's glad that they're her friend- _and that they've technically promised to kiss her- _well, friends can kiss friends, that's totally normal.

"Esther," She muses as Ryuk loses another round and removes their scrunchy from their hair as MK complains that it doesn't count. "What Are Some Good Adani Female Names You Know Of From Legends Or Your Religion?" She realizes belatedly that she doesn't know Esther's religion.

"I know quite a few." Esther smiles cheerfully. "My name is the Persian name given to Hadassah, who was forced to marry the king of Persia and then saved her people from being executed. Another good name is Lilith. Old texts called her a demon, saying she was the first woman who rejected HaShem's will and Adam's leadership, but later she became a powerful symbol of equality and liberty for women."

Papyrus listens as Esther lists off a few more. "I Like Lilith." She muses.

"Why ask, though? Are you pregnant?" Esther inquires.

Papyrus- _Lilith?_ blushes. "I- Er." She looks to Ryuk, who shrugs and makes a noncommittal gesture. They're no help. "I'm A Girl." She says firmly.

"Cool, yo." MK says. Luon kisses MK instead of replying.

Esther smiles. "Do you want to be called Lilith?"

Ryuk grins proudly, encouraging. Pa- Lilith thinks for a moment. "I Think So."

"You don't have to keep it, yo, you can try different names. That's what I did." MK says. "But Mil-Gwedh kinda stuck."

"MK named me." Ryuk says. "Being called _Ar-Six _all the damn time sucked earwax, so I was glad to take the first name I got."

"Who Named You A Goddamn Serial Number??" Pap- Lilith demands.

Ryuk shrugs uncomfortably. "My mom."

"Well, Fuck Her." Lilith cries, hiding her wince at the realization that Frisk's reset will send Ryuk back there. At- at least they won't remember this? _None of this matters_. The cold fact strikes her in the face.

"Oh, _now_ fucking authorities is good?" Ryuk retorts playfully. "What do I look like, a goddamn motherfucker?"

"N-nyeh- heh. Yes?" Lilith hates herself. 

"Wow, thanks, Lilith." Ryuk mockingly pats her head. Lilith blushes, euphoric, embarrassed, and ashamed of herself. But she can't renege on the deal with Frisk now.

The game ends as Ryuk and Esther boo MK and Luon into a separate room to do each other in privacy instead of making everyone else uncomfortable. Esther pulls on her clothes again. Lilith preens, pleased that she didn't have to remove any articles of clothing.

"Wanna dance, queen?" Ryuk bleps at her. The music playing is more modern techno beats. Esther has already gone to dance with Suzy.

"I'm Not Sure Sans Would Like That." Lilith retorts coyly, taking Ryuk's proffered hand. "He Seemed Rather Upset Last Time He Came Back From Talking To You."

"Oh, fuck him." Ryuk says jauntily with only a twinge of hidden bitterness. "It was just a light smack. He's a big boy, he can get over it."

"Then There's Nothing Stopping Me." Pa- Lilith says cheerfully. It might be harder than she thought to get used to a new name. But _Papyrus_ isn't really very feminine, and it's associated with her past of trying to be masculine.

"This'll take some getting used to." Ryuk mentions as they're twirling her around.

"What will?" Lilith asks.

"You not hating me." They smirk as they dip her.

"Who Says I Ever _Hated_ You??"

"Eh, you're right, _despise_ might be a better word." Ryuk lets her take the lead.

Lilith twirls them around and then dips them in revenge. Ryuk's leg lifts between her femurs to balance themself and they grin and bounce as she brings them up again. "I Certainly Don't Despise You Now." Lilith growls playfully as Ryuk steals the lead again.

"Y-yeah? I don't despise you now either." They grin and spin around her. She catches them as they fall dramatically into her arms.

"In Fact, I Rather Adore You." Lilith holds onto Ryuk.

Ryuk goes tense for a moment, and Lilith almost thinks they're about to reject her again, steeling herself for the words, '_I don't want you_'. "I think I do too." They press against her ribcage to murmur against her skull, flushing her spine with pleasant heat. "But about you."

Before Lilith quite knows what she's doing, she presses her jaws to Ryuk's soft lips, gripping them tight and running her fingers through their hair. This won't matter when she gets back to the Milky Way. None of this will matter. She'll forget it all. She'll forget the freedom of not being angry all the time. She'll forget making friends with Ryuk. She'll forget figuring out she's a girl. But Lilith wants to live in the moment, she wants to light the past on fire and burn in the present because this version of her may never have another chance to live so freely. "Please." Lilith begs. "I Want You."

"Y-you're really sure?" Ryuk asks breathlessly. "I mean- after everything?"

"_Because_ _Of_ _Everything_." Lilith growls, husky with desire.

Ryuk's face darkens and Lilith kisses them again, hungrily, her tongue tentatively seeking entrance. Ryuk's lips part, granting it as their hands grip her ribcage to hold her close. 

And then they're yanked back by Sans, who looks pissed as hell. Pap- _Lilith_ scowls at her brother. "SANS, WHAT THE FUCK??"

"Papyrus, what the Fuck_._" Sans snarls back, shaking Ryuk by the nape of the neck like they're a rat caught by a dog.

"Dude." Ryuk struggles. "The _fuck_? Let go!"

"pal, i ain't happy with ya, so shut up." Sans snaps at them.

Lilith glowers and snatches Ryuk from Sans, brushing their jacket off. "YOU COULD HAVE WAITED." She says haughtily. "WE WERE BUSY."

"i saw." Sans growls. "Paps, yer really testing my limits here."

"OH, FUCK OFF." Papyrus snarls. "IF YOU CAN'T ACCEPT WHO I AM, THEN YOU'RE FREE TO GO PISS YOURSELF ELSEWHERE."

"Paps-"

"MY NAME IS _LILITH_."

"look," Sans says with the fake tone that some people assume to pretend they're being so patient and longsuffering, "Papyrus. i get yer confused an' all, but ryuk here ain't helping, they're jes' bein' an enabler."

"WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING _PROBLEM_??" Papy- Lilith demands, angry tears burning at hi- her sockets. "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?? THIS IS _MY_ LIFE, I'LL LIVE IT HOW _I_ WANT TO!!"

Sans's pupils go black. "fine. you wanna disown me?? fuckin' _fine_. see if i ever look out for you again. you wanna live your own life?? cool, that's great to know you don't want me in it anymore."

"DON'T FUCKING SPIN THIS AROUND, SANS, I KNOW YOUR TRICKS."

"oh ho, now i'm _tricking_ you, am i?? just wait, Paps. you'll see. ryuk'll fail ya again, they'll abandon you _again_, and then you'll regret alienatin' yer only goddamn brother and you'll come crying back to me, but i won't forget this, bro." Sans snarls. "so go ahead, tell me you don't need me. just say it, i dare you."

"_FUCK_ YOU, I NEVER FUCKING _NEEDED_ YOU!!" Papyrus- _LILITH!!_ shrieks, tears streaming down his- _her!! _cheeks.

Sans staggers back. "oh. okay." And then he disappears._ For good_.

Ryuk wrings their scarred hands, glancing at Lilith nervously. They don't say anything. Nobody says anything, too scared to talk. Is that what her anger does to people?? Makes them afraid to be in the same room?? Lilith wipes viciously at her sockets and spins to leave.

"Lilith-" Ryuk calls, their footsteps pattering on the floor as they run after her. "Wait, I'm sorry-"

"HOW IS ANY OF THIS YOUR FAULT??" Lilith cries. "WHEN I CAN'T SEEM TO KEEP A LID ON MY GODDAMNED TEMPER??"

"I- I invited him." They mumble.

"OH. SO IT _IS_ ALL YOUR FAULT." Lilith keeps stomping away. Ryuk, for some reason, keeps trotting along behind her.

"Lilith, it's okay to be mad. He's-"

"HE'S WHAT, TELLING THE TRUTH??" Lilith- Papyrus cries. "MAYBE I AM JUST CONFUSED. MAYBE THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT."

Ryuk's footsteps halt. Papyrus nearly turns around. "N-no." They cry. "He's just being an ass, Pap- Lilith!"

"Forget It. He's Right. I'm Just A Confused Asshole Who Doesn't Know When The Fuck To Shut Up." Papyrus snarls, tears welling in h- his eyes as pain pierces her- his soul. It doesn't matter. It shouldn't matter. This will all be fixed by Frisk. _Then why does it hurt so much-_

"Are you confused about wanting me??" Ryuk cries.

Papyrus stops short. He weighs the past against the nonexistent future. He won't remember it. It doesn't matter. "I Don't Know Anymore." He finally admits. "I Still Want You, But I Don't Know If I'm Confused Or Not."

"Can- can I try to help with that?" Ryuk offers, their voice coming closer, though their steps are almost silent.

Papyrus sniffles. "Y-Yes."

"Can I keep calling you Lilith?" They ask.

"Y-Yes, If You Want." A bud of- _confusion_\- euphoria blooms at the thought that they still think of her as a girl. "I Think A Distraction Would Be Nice."

"It's not the _best_ coping mechanism ever. But- uh, well, Tonton is busy, so I guess it's the best we've got." Ryuk wraps their arms around her.

The admiral considers her options for a moment. Sans could show up in her room, like he's done before, to demand an apology or interrupt the proceedings. The safer bet would be the gym closet. There's even exercise mats to make it more comfortable. She takes Ryuk's hand and starts for the gym.

* * *

_What the fuck are you doing??_ That's all you can scream at yourself as Pa- sorry, _Lilith_ leads you down the hall. You're pretty sure she wants to have sex. And you're also pretty sure you want to have sex. But what you're not sure about--and what your brain is screaming at you for--is whether it's really okay to fuck her while she's emotionally vulnerable. She'll probably definitely regret the decision later.

But fuck that, you _died_, dammit, and _she_ died- _everyone_ died, so maybe everyone deserves a chance to just fuck karma. Yeah. Stick a goddamned cactus right up karma's butt. To hell with the consequences. You're buzzed with alcohol and you're pissed as hell at that piece of shit _Sans_ and you're so goddamn attracted to Lilith it's making you need another drink cause _damn_ you never really appreciated how elegant and lovely she is, and _fuck_, she actually wants to make out with you.

She stops and turns into the empty gym, going straight for the closet. You trot along behind her, keeping up with three steps to her one. "You sure?" You ask nervously.

"No, I'm Not Fucking Sure, So Just Kiss Me Already." Lilith growls, dragging you into the closet.

"Uh, well, that's not really healmmph-"

Lilith smirks into the kiss. "Are You Going To Ramble On About My Mental Health Or Are You Going To Listen When I Tell You To Kiss Me??"

"Don't underestimate my powers of multitasking, bitch." You retort fondly, wishing you could wrap her in your wings- but you don't have wings. "And since when are _you_ the one giving the orders here??"

Lilith splutters. "Since I Was The One Who Took Charge And Kissed You First, Asshole!! If You'd Kissed Me, I'd Gladly Let You Take The Lead, But You Missed Out, Nyeh Heh!" She nods her head sharply with haughtiness.

"Welp, I can't disagree." You shrug and yank her into another kiss. The leather of her gloves feels so soft as her fingers trail through your hair and dig into your scalp. Your hands-- which should be claws-- explore her ribcage, feeling her moan into the kiss as you tentatively stroke the inside of her ribs.

"So." She growls as she drags you down onto a pile of exercise mats and pins you. "How Should We Do This?"

You grip her skull and press your lips against her jaws, peppering her with kisses as you maneuver one leg around her femurs, then flip her over and smirk down at her, your thigh pressing against her pelvis. She squirms in a vain attempt to grind against you, so you obligingly roll your hips to provide friction.

"Y-You Scoundrel." She hisses, gasping and gripping your abdomen as you trail one hand down her spine.

"Hm?" You bare your fangs- teeth at her and her skull darkens with a blush. "Scoundrel, huh?"

"Bite Me." She growls. "That's An Order."

"Well, then. _Yes_, _sir_." You rock against her, rubbing your thigh against her bucking pelvis as you nip at her chin, wishing you had actual fangs.

"To-Touch Me Here." She guides your hand to her coccyx. She's still wearing her uniform and scarf. You're wearing clothes too, but you're not eager to remove yours. "And For The Love Of Rifli, I Want To Feel Your Skin." She growls and fights with the buttons of your jacket.

You chuckle, heartbeat stuttering at her adorable petulance. "Goddamn _princess_."

"S-SO WHAT??" She cries, blushing furiously. "JUST FUCK ME ALREADY."

"As you wish, princess." You purr against her skull and pull your jacket off along with your shirt, managing to grind your thighs against her pelvis as you do so. She moans and trails her leather-covered hands over your prickling skin. "Take off yours."

A light of coy defiance sparkles in her sockets. "Make Me." She growls, then flips you over and rolls her pelvis against your hips. You unbutton her shirt, senses sharp with lust, then gasp as she gets a hand between your legs and _strokes_. In revenge, you bite her ribs, swirling your tongue on her scarred ivory bones. Her shirt comes off, but you leave her scarf on and focus on undoing her pesky pants. She unwraps your skirt and throws it into a corner. "Get your boxers off." She orders.

"Make me." You retort, then squirm as she bites your shoulder-- scales, you want scales, _shut up and just enjoy this_\-- and grinds her pelvis against your groin, her hands rolling over your chest. Your hands find her coccyx and you rub firmly, making her breathe in sharply with shocked pleasure.

Lilith growls into your neck, nipping your skin, leaving spreading pools of warmth behind as the heat in your body and the longing in your chest and eyes refuses to be ignored any longer. You _want_ her badly; you want to envelop her in your wings-- _nonexistent-_\- and make her feel amazing. She drags a moan from your lungs as her hand presses into your groin and strokes again, finding a rhythm as she grinds her pelvis against your thigh. "Li-Lilith, you su-hure?" You gasp out.

"Yes." She snarls and her husky voice sparks plasma in your body. You cast aside your doubts and fears and leave teeth marks on her ribs as she pocks your skin with her fangs and feeds the fire between your legs.

"You're fucking beautiful." You purr. Lilith falters for a moment, then fire blazes from her sockets as she grins viciously down at you.

"Scoundrel." She growls against your lips, then her tongue rasps up your neck as your head arches back. Your mind clouds and senses sharpen as the burn grows unbearably. Lilith shudders as her bones grow hot to touch. You roll her over again and grind into her pelvis, letting her ride the waves of her orgasm until she lets out a breath and goes limp for a moment.

You start to relax on top of her, assuming she's done now that she came. But a wicked light comes into her grin and her hands go back to teasing the embers in your body to a raging fire with powerful strokes against your groin and gentle rolls over your chest and ribs as she kisses you with abandon. It's almost too much to bear, but just as the wave crests, it breaks over you, washing through your body and making your hips buck involuntarily against her hand.

She kisses you softly as you pant for breath. You bare your fangs at her. "Hey."

"Hello." She purrs back, caressing your cheek as she snuggles under your arm.

"Stop's the safeword." You growl as you bite her neck spine and stroke the inside of her pelvis sharply, hearing her moaning gasp in reward. You're not nearly distracted enough. From the way she eagerly responds to your reckless touches, she agrees with you.


	26. Rekindle The Fire Burning

Trembling with anger and pain, Sans collapses in his lumpy couch, alone in his room. He sits there for a few minutes, unable to relax as the argument replays in his mind again and again. Papyrus never hurt him before. Not like this. But this time Paps's words cut deep, as though the younger finally stopped caring about sparing Sans's soul. Papyrus doesn't even realize all that Sans has done for the ungrateful bastard.

Sans gets up, unable to relax for the few minutes needed to fall asleep. He trips over a pile of socks, then draws his gaster blaster and burns the socks to ashes, fury pounding in his wet sockets. Someone knocks at the door. "what??" He demands.

"Heya, Sansy."

Sans nearly blasts through the door at Frisk's voice. "whaddya want." He snarls, wiping the dampness from his cheekbones.

"I just wanted to see my favorite uncle!" She cries cheerfully. "That was really cruel of Papy and he should be ashamed of himself, especially since he just apologized to me and agreed to let me reset."

"come in, kid." Sans sighs. The door slides open and Frisk skips inside. "what's this about Paps lettin' ya reset?"

She grins. "He wants me to fix everything."

Sans nods tersely. "yeah, alright. i do too, but, uh, can i ask a favor?"

"Yeah, sure!"

"make him realize he needs me."

Frisk nods back. "You got it! Hee hee, I'll help all of you one more time and then you won't abandon me, right?"

"exactly." Sans says, but it's not a promise. "alright, kid, you stay out of trouble. i guess i'm just gonna stay in here."

Frisk taps her finger to the side of her mouth. "You could always come to the _Alaco_ with me."

"heh, okay." Sans shrugs. He has nothing left here, after all. Papyrus cut him off, the dumbass brat sided with Papyrus, Asgore is in the brig, and Sans never really made any friends outside of them. He didn't think he needed to.

He packs his things up, missing one of his books on wormholes until he remembers he loaned it to Ryuk and they never gave it back. He scoffs under his breath. He doesn't need it.

It takes a good few hours to get all his things ordered in his inventory. And as he's finally finishing up, ignoring Frisk who's plopped on the couch to watch an old anime, a weird sharp smell invades his senses. "ew, kid, i didn't know yer codename was _that_ accurate."

"Huh??" She glances up, then sniffs the air. "Hee hee, that's not me, that's- DT??" She frowns. "Why's it smell like DT in here??"

Sans coughs, sockets watering. "dunno, kid, but i have an idea." Luon should know what's going on.

He shortcuts himself and Frisk to the science lab, where the smell is nearly unbearable and thick golden smoke obscures most of the tables laden with various projects. "luon, hey, what the fuck??" Sans demands.

Someone coughs, hidden by the smoke. "Luon isn't herre," A tiger-like miriel emerges from the smoke, covering his mouth. "Just me, name's N'kha."

"what's goin' on??"

"Well, uh." N'kha says nervously. "One of Luon's olderr experriments rreached maturrity- and- uh. Exploded?"

"why the fuck is the scent traveling through the ship, shouldn't you have the vents controlled??"

"Well, I do, and it worrks norrmally, but- well. I'm not surre what Luon was playing with."

"_DT_." Frisk says, her voice hard. "That _moron_."

Sans rubs his neck-spine. "we ain't gonna melt, are we?"

Frisk shrugs. "I doubt it, since usually it's only monsters near death who melt. So don't die, hee hee."

"got it." Sans grumbles. "welp, i guess it's Paps's problem. i'm outta here. comin', kid?"

Frisk skips a step and grabs Sans's arm before he shortcuts to the hangar. "Thanks, Sansy."

"sure, kid." Sans says, choosing a runabout and plopping into a seat. "drive us to the _alaco_, would ya?"

"Sure thing! Hee hee, you won't regret this."

"i better not." Sans grunts before finally falling asleep.

* * *

Sleeping on his boyfriend's chest, MK shifts and sniffs the air drowsily. It stinks, oddly enough, which drags him fully awake. "Yo, Luon."

"Hmm?" Luon groans sleepily, then his nose twitches and he grimaces. "Wait. That's-"

"Yo, is this another one of your science projects gone awry??"

Luon looks askance. "I wouldn't say it's _gone awry_. I've been working on it ever since Frisk kidnapped the Admiral."

"Why's it smell like rotten peppermint??"

Luon shrugs gracefully. "I don't know. Shall we check?"

MK follows Luon down to the science lab. Papyrus- oh, right, _Lilith_ has already come to investigate, Ryuk trailing behind hi- her, both looking disheveled. MK isn't really surprised about the Admiral's announcement of being a girl, since she's always been a diva.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?? WHY IS EVERYONE COMPLAINING OF THIS DISGUSTING SMELL??" Pa- Lilith demands, stomping her foot. N'kha leans against the wall, seeming dazed.

"Interesting." Luon notes absently, then opens the door. Heavy plumes of golden smoke billow out, making everyone cough as they breathe it in. "No worries, it's not poisonous."

"WHAT IS IT??" Papyrus- Lilith snaps.

"It is an experiment utilizing DT. I attempted to dilute it into a usable form using raw magic that MK so kindly loaned me, but it seems to have exploded and permeated through the entire ship."

"Yo, if I'd known you were planning something crazy with it-!!" MK cries, then trails off in a fit of coughing.

"Hey, dumb question, what's DT?" Ryuk asks.

"All souls are made of Hope, Love, and Determination in varying degrees." Luon explains. "DT is the active form of extracted Determination."

"DT is poisonous for sedryn, you dumbass." MK cries.

"Only if you're near death, according to Alphys's notes." Luon corrects, finding his way over to a project in the back and messing with it. The smoke finally dies down so that MK isn't nearly choking on the fumes and can actually see the others.

"What's The Purpose??" P- Lilith snaps. "What's So Important That You Would Endanger The Entire Ship??"

"Relax," Luon says calmly, "I wasn't endangering anyone. It seems to be inactive now, and it will remain so."

Ryuk squeezes Lilith's hand and she relents, only saying, "No More Experiments With DT."

"Yes, sir." Luon replies. MK stares at the glowing golden liquid in the vial Luon draws out. "Ah, perfect. I'll have to distill it into molds next."

"Yo, what is it for??"

"Power, Mil-Gwedh. If someone requires a magical boost, then they can take a pill to power up." Luon says cheerfully.

"Is this because Frisk captured all the most powerful sedryn on the ship??" MK asks.

"Yes." Luon replies. "I don't want that to happen again."

Pap- Lilith huffs. "I'll Take One, Then."

Luon grins, baring his fangs. "Perfect."

"What effect would it have on an adani?" Ryuk asks.

"I'm not entirely sure, but it's not dangerous, so you may have one as well if you'd like." Luon says.

"Fine, yo, I'll take one too." MK pipes up, not to be left out. "And you should, too, just to be fair!"

Luon smirks. "Very well."

Lilith and Ryuk leave together. MK watches them go, deciding to badger Ryuk about what happened between the two. "Yo, is that the real reason?"

Luon shrugs noncommittally. "There's another, but I'm worried it wouldn't work if I told you, and I'd prefer to not have to find out whether it works or not."

"Okay." MK kisses Luon. "I love you, yo."

"I love you as well, Mil-Gwedh." Luon replies, kissing back.

"When we get to the Milky Way, I want to marry you."

Luon's copper-scaled ruff poofs. "I- yes, that would be nice."

MK's gut goes all jittery with excitement as his chill smoothness breaks down. "Awesome, yo!! We can totally, like, mix traditions and have a super epic bonding and marriage feast!!"

"That sounds lovely." Luon says, the tip of his tail waving with cheer. MK kisses him again, and then runs off to his station to perform his duties for the shift.

Days pass as the fleet approaches the M class planet, lovingly dubbed Angelass by popular vote. MK loves his new duties, taking charge of coordinating between the four ships under his command.

Lilith has asked him to keep an eye on Sans, who left for the _Alaco_, so MK calls in a favor with a nurse from that ship to watch over the older skelebro and make sure he stays fed and doesn't fall down. MK isn't sure what happened between Lilith and Sans, so even though it was bad enough to drive Sans away, MK doesn't take sides since he doesn't know the facts. He feels kind of sorry for Sans, though. It can't be easy to be alienated from one's only source of support.

Upon reaching Angelass, most starmas get shore leave and go down to the planet to relax and restock supplies. Luon and MK both stay on the _Liltha_, Luon to keep working on sciencey stuff, and MK to keep training with the command interface. They meet up whenever they're both free to talk about their shifts, or just talk about random shit, or even just make-out until they fall asleep on each other.

MK finally gets a chance to corner Ryuk a week after the death event. "Yo, how'd you know we were gonna die?" He asks.

Ryuk flinches. "I- I don't wanna think about it, Mil-Gwedh." They plead. "I've been managing to not think about th-that for this long and I'd like to keep not thinking about it."

"Ignoring death isn't going to help you. We all died. It hurt. Lesson learned, death sucks, yo." MK pats their shoulder.

"Heh. You already know the answer."

"Oh, yeah, your mom. I guess I do." MK rolls his eyes. "You can't keep letting her fuck up your life."

"I'm not." They say with a hint of arrogance. "In fact, I took your advice and I've been fucking my current major authority figure instead."

MK stares at them, then grins. "Yoooo, you _did_ fuck Papyrus- sorry, _Lilith_!!"

"Yyyup." They say, seeming both oddly guilty and bashfully pleased. "She fucked me, too, though, so we're even."

"Did she give you the haladie?" MK smirks.

"Why would she do that?" Ryuk wonders in confusion.

"Because you _hit on her_." MK snorts. "And it _landed_."

"Dumbass." Ryuk shoves MK lightly.

"Yo, but what happened with Sans??"

"He- uh, he wasn't happy about Lilith being a girl or about Lilith- uh, kissing me." Ryuk tells MK sheepishly. "He was being a dick so Lilith got angry, and maybe she was a bit harsh, but he deserved it."

"Poor Sans." MK says, feeling kind of bad for Sans despite his dickishness.

"Hmph." Ryuk grunts noncommittally. "Whatever. Is Luon almost done with the dirty candies?"

"Yo, he hates when you call it that." MK retorts with a chuckle. Luon wants to call it DT-infused drops, but dirty candies is funnier. "And no, it'll take a couple more days."

Ryuk shrugs and changes the topic to the latest artistic endeavor by a group of starmas under Dexi's direction to film theatrical performances. Ryuk had tried to audition but was booed off the stage after they started rhapsodizing about the glistening of a dragon's scales and so forth and so on and etc. They were, admittedly, drunk at the time. MK doesn't blame the audience, but it was hilarious, especially since he knows Ryuk's secret dream is to be a dragon.

MK returns to his quarters at the end of his shift and brightens when he hears footsteps in the kitchenette. "Luon?"

"Howdy." Oh. It's Bracken. MK scowls, still not sure what to make of the weird creature.

"Yo, how'd you get in??"

"The ants' nests." Bracken replies with a breezy grin. "Just wondering if you knew about Frisk's latest plan to be a hero."

"What??" MK demands.

"What, do I look like I know? Hahaha, I was messing with you, Frisk's probably on a remote island on the planet with Toriel and Asgore by now."

MK grumbles, "She better be."

"But I want Chara back." Bracken drops the bomb. "And I think Luon can help me there."

"How, yo?"

"Golly, his magic." Bracken flips a cookie into the air and snaps his jaws around it. "He's an amlyg." He says with his mouth full of cookie.

MK glares at Bracken. "Yo, don't eat all my cookies, that's rude."

Bracken shrugs and steals another. "Please ask him to help me?"

"Why not ask him yourself??"

"Gee, because he likes you, idiot." Bracken sneers. "You think he'd listen to me?? Especially after I ruined his dumb DT experiment."

"_You_ made it explode??" MK snaps. "Yo, that was dangerous-"

"Hahahaha, not nearly as dangerous as his success woulda been."

MK almost snarls that Luon succeeded in spite of Bracken's stupidity, but holds his tongue, smirking instead. "Fine, yo. I'll help you."

* * *

Luon hands you a pouch with a dirty candy inside. You slip it onto your palm and stare at it, the shimmering smooth gold seeming to swirl in the light. "Don't take it unless you need to." He warns again. You nod and put it back into the pouch, then stuff that into the inventory Lilith has been teaching you how to use. Luon gives one each to Lilith and MK as well. "Again, dire emergencies." He pockets the last two.

"Yo, Lilith, where's Frisk?" MK trots after you as you walk out with Lilith's hand in yours.

"She- She Is On The Planet Of Course." Lilith says stiffly.

"No, she isn't. Nobody reported her ever heading down." MK retorts. "Do you know, yo, or did you lose her??"

Lilith turns suspiciously red. "Lilith," You cry, hoping she didn't let Frisk stay on the ship, "You _wouldn't_!!"

"WHY DO YOU NEED TO KNOW??" Lilith snaps. She's been on a shorter fuse ever since Sans exiled himself.

"Bracken thinks Luon can extract Chara from Frisk." MK says.

"F-Fine, She's On The _Alaco_." Lilith says, avoiding your glare.

"Seriously??" You cry after MK has pranced off back to Luon. "You kept her up here??"

"N-NO, I DIDN'T, I WAS PLANNING TO- TO HAVE HER GO BACK DOWN AFTER THE INVASION!!" Lilith defends.

"She needs to go before the invasion." You cross your arms firmly.

"Why??" Lilith growls.

Trying to ignore the warmth and longing her husky voice causes, you say, "B-because- because we might not have time."

"None Of This Will Matter When We're Back In The Milky Way." She lifts your head, running her fingers through your hair. You lean into the touch despite yourself. "Trust Me."

"I- I do." Your head ducks with guilt. You should be honest with her.

She kisses you fiercely, driving your doubts away. You kiss back eagerly, absorbing her nearly-frantic affection and returning it. _It's not right to take advantage of her-_ you drive the worry from your mind. She wants you. You may never be enough, but it's enough that she wants you and you want her. Now if only you could be honest with her.

"L-Lilith." You break away, nervous to confess. "I- I hid something from you." Wincing at her scowl, you continue, "The invasion that the Aggelos are planning- is- is in the Milky Way."

"Oh." Lilith says. "Why The Fuck Would You Hide That??"

She doesn't sound _too_ mad, more irritated than anything, so you glance up in surprise. "B-because you might have to fight your old empire? And- and that's- not something I thought you would agree to?"

"Nyeh, I Hate The Republic And Those Stupid Pencil-Pushing Uiloth Chancellors." Lilith retorts haughtily. "I'm Not Sure I Want To Help The Aggelos Destroy Them, But I'm Not Opposed To Using The Aggelos To Get Home And Then Defecting." She smirks as though she knows something you don't.

"O-oh. You're- not mad at me?"

"Oh, I'm Quite Mad At You." She hisses against your ear, causing heat to bloom in your body. "In Fact, I'm So Mad, I'm Going To Punish You."

"Y-yeah?" You gulp to wet your dry mouth. "Are we talking the fun kind, or the not-so-fun kind?"

She smirks at you. "Depends On What Your Definitions Of Fun And Not-So-Fun Are."

"Uh, not-so-fun, being locked in the brig, or more work. Fun, literally anything else."

"Really?" Lilith looks surprised.

"I mean, besides vivisection, that's a hard limit." You joke. She looks slightly sickened by that, so you might have been a bit too morbid, but mom never cared what your limits were.

"Well, I'll Keep That In Mind." Lilith says. "But Your Punishment Is To Scrub Every Single Door In The Ship Until It's Sparkling."

"Aww, man." You groan. "Fucking tease."

It takes a few days to complete the task along with all your other duties, during which time Lilith also refuses to have sex with you. But she cuddles you still, so the joke's on her, because cuddling is just as much fun. You're still worried about Frisk, but Lilith assures you that she'll take care of it, so you try to trust her.

Lilith has nightmares most of the times she sleeps. She'll go tense and hold you tight, as though afraid you're going to leave her. Sometimes you hear Sans's name. Other times you hear another name, _Helvetica_, who you guess is her dead mother. When you try to calm her down, she snarls blindly at you.

"Lilith!" You grab her hand as she lashes out. "I'm here. I won't leave you."

She relaxes, nuzzling into your neck, the soft silk of her scarf warm against your bare chest. "Good." She murmurs sleepily. "Stay."

You wake later to her tracing purposeful swirls on your abdomen, going lower and lower with every circle. She nips your lip when she sees you're awake and you kiss the jagged scar over her left socket. "Hey."

She rolls on top of you and presses her femur between your legs, caressing your chest and guiding one of your hands to her lower spine. Her desperation for attention and affection has become clearer as the days go on, but you're happy to oblige her. "I'm Glad I Have You." She growls as she pulls your hair and leaves marks on your neck with her teeth, rubbing away the warm pain with her raspy tongue.

"Ah-" You moan against her jaws as her hand firmly strokes your groin. "Me too."

She falters so you buck against her. "I'm Sorry." She murmurs, not meeting your gaze. "This Can't Last."

"Why not?" You ask, recklessly kissing her to make her forget her worries, and you purr against her jaws, "I adore you."

She rises slightly, her body still over yours as she leans on her elbows, and she looks askance. "What If The Aggelos Turn On Us And Kill Us Again After Their Use For Us Is Gone??"

"Th-then we're screwed, I guess."

"So We Should Live For The Now." She growls. 

"Yeah-" You gasp as she descends on you, her fierce desperation now making more sense and igniting the same desperation in your own soul.

* * *

Frisk giggles when Luon, MK, and Bracken approach her about extracting Chara. But both she and Chara are excited by the offer. Frisk draws out her shared soul. Luon tuts as he sees it. "This may cause complications." He says. "Your soul is yours, yet also belongs to Chara. If Chara agrees to split the soul, we can proceed."

Chara snatches control, Frisk's golden eyes turning deep red. "Chara agrees to split this soul with their partner." They say.

Luon nods firmly. "Then, Bracken and MK, stand back."

Frisk bounces cheerfully. She's finally going to get rid of her parasite! Chara sneers at her, delighted that they'll finally be away from her.

The amlyg slithers around her in a circle, chanting in a language Frisk doesn't understand, but Chara recognizes it as an old incanting tongue. "_From dust, from tears, from blood, from marrow_," Luon repeats five times, then does the same for the next chant, "_To dust, to tears, to blood, to marrow_."

Frisk squirms, feeling uncomfortable, but Chara makes her stay still as they can see the golden webs winding around the crimson soul.

"_From dust, that she was born. From tears, that she has felt in joy and pain. From blood, that she lives. From marrow, that she grows._" Luon continues. "_To dust, that they are born. To tears, that they feel in joy and in pain. To blood, that they live. To marrow, that they grow._"

The golden webs thicken into cords and tighten around the soul, slicing through the tough magic.

_ "I name Frisk who is._" Luon incants. The cords loosen for a moment. "_I name Chara, who was and is yet to be. Now Be._"

Frisk screams as the soul splits in a perfect half. Chara screams as they're torn painfully away from the shared mind. Agony consumes Chara, but they hold onto hope as joy pours into them that they can't feel Frisk's own pain.

Then, delighted, Chara opens their eyes. They blink, disoriented slightly, as Frisk stares at them from a few feet away. "Hee hee," Frisk cries gleefully. "We're two people again!"

Luon holds up a hand. "There are a few conditions, as is expected with a geas."

"What?" Chara asks eagerly, holding up their hands to stare at the pale thin fingers.

"You must both look at each other once every twenty-four hours for the next month."

"Ugh." Frisk groans. "Fine, hee hee, it's worth it."

"Secondly," Luon says sternly, "You, Frisk, can not refuse to help any person who makes a request saying _please_. And you, Chara, can not refuse any food offered in good faith. If you fail to follow the conditions, one or both of you could cease to exist."

Chara grins at Bracken, whose cute chubby copper cheeks darken. "Easy." They say. "Right, partner?"

"Yeah, sure." Frisk grumbles. "Why didn't you tell me about the geesh or whatever _beforehand_??"

Luon bares his fangs. "Consider it punishment for destroying my fiance's glamour."

Chara ignores Frisk's whining in favor of approaching Bracken. They don't care about the conditions, since those should be easy enough to follow. Bracken grins at them. "Howdy, Chara."

"Greetings." They reply, caressing his chin. Then they do what they've always wanted to and plant their lips against his. He freezes in shock for a moment, then relaxes and responds eagerly.

"Gods, I missed you." He growls into the kiss.

Chara notices that MK and Luon have left with Frisk. "Shall we make up for lost time?" They purr, running their hands through his lovely soft hair.

"Gee, I can't refuse an offer like that."

* * *

Guilt weighs on Lilith's soul every time she takes advantage of Ryuk's willingness to distract her from her cares and fears. Lilith, experienced at channeling unpleasant emotions into more manageable ones-- generally anger-- focuses the guilt into lust. She's addicted to Ryuk and she doesn't want to stop, ever, but she'll have to when Frisk resets-- she desperately needs Frisk to reset, needs her people alive and to forget the pain and grief of this galaxy, yet she fears the time when this will all be erased. So she channels all the conflicting shitty emotions into the more manageable lust.

But it's good to know that the invasion is in the Milky Way, this makes everything easier since the Aggelos won't even have a chance to invade. She wonders if she should be honest with Ryuk about the reset since they were honest with her in the end about the invasion. But they don't need to know. They'd only get upset and fight the inevitable. She's the admiral, and she deems it best for the fleet to have Frisk reset, despite Ryuk and Undyne's concerns. She's been avoiding Undyne and using Ryuk as a distraction from her worries. _Some great friend she is_. But there's no other choice.

During daily sparring practice, she's distracted by her own thoughts as Ryuk battles her. They're being purposefully flashy in an attempt to cheer her up and get her to take one of the openings, but she just feels like shit. The spar ends as they tap her ribs with the haladie.

"You Did It!" Lilith says with false cheer.

They glare at her and accuse, "You let me win." But then they come up to her and lift her chin. "You okay, princess?"

"N-No." She mutters, tears welling in her sockets. "Sans Hates Me Now And I Don't Know How To Fix It." '_I'm afraid you and Undyne will hate me_' she doesn't say.

"Oh." They say, hugging her. She doesn't deserve their kindness. "I don't really know either, but an apology for snapping at him might start. He has shit to apologize for too, though, so I don't know if that's good enough, but it would prove you're the more mature person."

"I- I Didn't Mean What He Thinks I Said." Lilith growls, wiping her sockets dry only for more tears to rise. "I Meant That I May Have Never _Needed_ Him, But I Always _Wanted_ Him."

"I dunno, that's still harsh for someone like him." They say. "Is this the only reason you're depressed?"

Lilith almost tells them the truth. She considers it. The words rise in her soul, ready to be spoken. But she says, "It's the only reason that matters."

"Okay." Ryuk says, continuing to hug her. "I can't really do anything, but-"

Lilith kisses them desperately. "You're doing enough." She assures them. "Keep the haladie."


	27. Sometimes Darkness Can Show You The Light

The tension in the air hangs heavily like evaporated butter, or so Cuina thinks the saying goes. Ke's not sure what butter is, but Tonton says it's supposed to be tasty. The stout ivory-boned sedryn glares at Tonton. "i ain't _overreacting_. much."

"Darling, you can't expect your sibling to put up with misgendering and invalidation." Tonton says patiently. Cuina spots a golden candy on the floor and snatches it for Dyno's little fledgling, tucking the candy in a pouch in kis knapsack.

"i ain't _misgendering_ him, he's just confused." The sedryn insists. "my bro ain't a girl, and i ain't _idealizing_ him, either, so don't give me that bull."

Cuina tucks kis head under kis wing and yawns. All this talk about _gender_ and whatnot bores ker, but ke stays in the room for Tonton. It's weird that most of these people only seem to know of a few different genders. Ivren have at least twelve different distinct genders, and that's not counting all the in-betweens and nulls. Cuina is _magic-protect-loyal_, the Ivren word for which has no equivalent in any of these new languages ke's been learning.

"Darling, your sibling-"

"my _brother_." The sedryn insists stubbornly, then relents at Tonton's stern stare. "fine. sibling. whatever. same thing."

Later, when Tonton is finally done therapizing people for the shift, Cuina drags him to the gym so ke can fly around and stretch kis wings in the relatively wider space. Tonton reads his notes on his patients as Cuina does so. "Frisk has been improving." He muses. "She and Chara both seem to have had a negative effect on one another, and now that they're apart, they're both able to come to terms with each other and themselves."

Cuina warbles back, "You care too much, Tonton."

Tonton grins fetchingly. "Darling~ I love_\- _I _live_ to improve the lives of others. I will never be like my mother." A hint of bitterness creeps into his voice.

Cuina purrs and pats Tonton's head with kis beak. "Tonton needs to be careful." Ke scolds. "Or he'll be burnt out." Ke heard that phrase used in reference to Dyno and now loves to use it kerself.

Tonton wraps an arm around ker, ruffling kis feathers. "I love how you care for me, Cuina." He purrs back.

Cuina nibbles Tonton's nose. "Promise you'll take time for yourself."

"But, darling, helping others _is_ for me~" Tonton sings. "As flying is for you~!" Cuina cocks kis head sternly and Tonton swoons. "Oh, don't be severe with me, darling, my poor soul can't handle it!"

Cuina snaps kis beak menacingly. Tonton presses the back of his hand to his head. "Tonton needs to take a break." Ke says.

"Ohh, dearest, for you only." Tonton says in a sultry voice. Cuina pecks him gently, making him laugh. "I'll have dinner with Sans, then, if that's quite alright with you."

Cuina warbles, pleased that Tonton is making friends. Ke wants to visit the fishy warrior Dyno and her little fledgling Ross, so this works out well. "Good."

Tonton pecks Cuina's beak and the ivren shakes kis head, poofing out kis webbed feathers. "I'll see you, darling." Tonton purrs.

Cuina pecks him again. Ke then leaves the _Alaco_ and goes to the other starship, called the _Heryn,_ to find Ross. When ke finds the two, ke pounces on Dyno and squawks, "Dyno, I pinned you!"

Dyno guffaws and wrestles Cuina to the ground. "NGAAAH, I pinned _you_!!" She squawks back in rough Ivren. The first time Cuina met Dyno, ke tried to greet Ross and got supplexed onto the ground for kis trouble.

"I brought a candy for your fledgling." Cuina says, taking out the golden candy. Ross giggles and grabs for it. Dyno stares at it suspiciously.

"Fuhuhu, you better not have found it off the ground again!!"

Cuina shakes kis head. "No, of course not." Ke lies.

"I guess it's fine then!" Dyno laughs.

Cuina hands the candy to Ross and the fledgling grabs it with sharp claws, gnawing at it with a determined glare in his eyes. "Thank you, Cookie!" Ross burbles around the candy.

"You're welcome, Ross." Cuina replies cheerfully.

Ke babysits Ross as Dyno leaves to have dinner with a cute friend-officer. Ke wonders if Dyno will peck the cute friend. Ke's seen a lot of good friends pecking each other, so it seems to be a custom among these people to peck close friends. It's cute. Cuina likes the custom.

Ross chews the candy as he plays with a metal starship model, taking it apart and putting it back together again. Then, quite suddenly, golden light blazes from the fledgling's eyes and mouth. Cuina screeches in horror as the little fledgling screams and writhes on the floor.

Ke pulls out Ross's soul and sees a sickly red darkness invading the bright golden light. Ke speaks a red magic, _stay-stop-live_, and the darkness abates, the gold and crimson light beating it back. Then the soul shines bright gold with cracks of red where the darkness was, and Ross stares at it in fascination.

"What's that, Cookie?"

"Your soul." Cuina sighs, relieved that it's over. Maybe it was some growth spurt sedryn go through and Dyno forgot to warn ker about it. "You okay?" Ke asks, sending Ross's soul back into his body.

"Pretty!!" Ross giggles. "So pretty!!"

The little fledgling is okay now, so Cuina tucks kis head under kis wing and watches him play with the model. Ke likes this life, ke likes it here with Tonton and Dyno and Ross and all kis other friends. Ke never had friends in the Ivren, ke was an outcast and a prisoner because of kis magic.

Ke meets with Tonton later on and curls up in bed with the soulful android. Ke means to ask about the weird occurrence with Ross's soul, but forgets as Tonton recounts his dinner with the stubborn rude ivory-boned sedryn. "Did you peck him?" Cuina asks.

"What? No, darling," Tonton laughs. Ah, good, so the sedryn isn't a close friend. "I would only peck you."

Cuina shuffles kis wings, flattered. "I don't mind if you peck other friends." Ke says.

"Ahh, but I don't peck just any friend, I only peck my most special dearest friends." Tonton purrs. Cuina clicks kis beak, purring with satisfaction.

* * *

The pink sun sets over the algae-glittering seas as turtle babies scramble over the glittering sand in vain attempts to escape the huge beetles chasing them. Kal'bun grabs a beetle and stabs its thorax with a skewer, then tosses it to M'rer, who puts it in a pile with the rest. Wendi, meanwhile, has started a bonfire and begun roasting the catches as other starmas stand around and chat.

"That's- how many?" Kal'bun calls to M'rer.

"Forty-five!" M'rer replies. "We need one more!"

"Right-o." Kal'bun grins and pounces on the last beetle, then leaves the rest to scatter about and flee into the sand. "Hey, isn't this cannibalism??" She asks Wendi.

The beetle-like garthaglaw gives her an unamused look. "Dumbass, I'm _sapient_, for one, and two, these aren't even remotely related to me, they just _look_ like it."

Kal'bun laughs and rubs the back of her head. M'rer comes up and cuddles under her arm, so she holds them close. "Right, sorry."

"That's bullshit, there's no way they're going to let us live!" The tail end of someone else's conversation catches Kal'bun's attention. "Those angel-asses _killed_ us, you really think they'll let us live once we're not useful anymore?? The Admiral is an idiot if he thinks this will get us home!"

"What would you suggest, then??" Kal'bun calls.

The rusty-orange-feathered galvorn glares at her. "We invade one of their ships, capture it, and take hostages! Then we force them to open a wormhole for us!"

"That would never work, you idiot!! They're too high-tech, I say we just give up and stay here." Someone else cries.

"Give up on going home?? Don't you want to go back to your family??"

"What family?? By now, they're probably all dead thanks to your stupid Republic's invasions!!"

"Well, at least they'd be spared from your culls!!"

The situation devolves quickly into a split camp, but Kal'bun raises a hand and calls, "Friends, we're not Alliance or Republic anymore! We're the Gil-Mista, and we will get home no matter what it takes!!"

A couple cheers go up amidst the silent camp, but they quickly go quiet again. "How long will that last??" Someone cries. "Even if we do get home, we'll all be executed for defecting by our own empires!"

"We can always hide and become pirates!!" Another person calls, shattering the tension into laughter.

"Yeah, we're all gonna die anyway sooner or later, but I'd prefer to take the risk and have the chance to die in my own galaxy with my own family!! And if that falls through, I wouldn't mind dying with you all by my side!!" Kal'bun cries, squeezing M'rer. "So let's not fight each other, but use all our anger to shout '_Therefore, Perish_' at our enemies!!"

This time, the cheers are numerous and echo out over the water. M'rer kisses Kal'bun. "I wish I could talk like you." They say. "You're amazing."

"Aww, you're amazing, too." Kal'bun smooches them back.

Everyone sits down around the bonfire on towels and blankets, and eats the roasted beetles. The chatter is more pleasant now. Kal'bun leans back beside M'rer and stares up at the stars.

"Hey, there's a scorpion." M'rer points up into the sky. Kal'bun squints and then grins. Sure enough, she can see the picture in the stars.

"I see boobs!!" One starma calls.

"That's all you ever see." The starma's friend retorts. Scattered laughter follows.

Thus the night is spent drawing pictures in the sky and coming up with ideas for new paintings in the starships. Everybody may be worried about their futures, but for now, peace and determination reign.

* * *

"Wh-what?" You stammer, confused by the question.

Lilith presses her fingers together, red with embarrassment. "I- I want to do soul stuff with you." She rephrases.

"Oh. Uh, sure-"

"It's Fine If You Don't, I Understand It's Scary For Adani, But I Like You A Lot And We May Not Have Much Time Together So I Want Us Both To Enjoy This While It Lasts- Oh, You're Sure?"

You shrug, suppressing your suspicion at the way she said you might not have much time. "Yeah. It sounds fun." She's probably still worried the Aggelos will turn on everyone and destroy them. Which is understandable, because the thought terrifies you too and you'd rather not think about it.

"C-Cool." She blushes. "I Have Work To Do, But After?"

"Y-yeah, okay. It's a date." You say, face heating.

You're still warm when you visit MK. He's frantically rummaging around. "You good, Mil-Gwedh?"

"No, Luon lost one of his dirty candies, and we can't find it anywhere!" MK cries. "Yo, if someone got their hands on it, it could- well, Luon discovered it's dangerous and volatile. So don't- yo, _please_ don't eat it unless there's literally no other option!"

"Is he okay?" You ask, concerned.

"I don't know, yo, he hasn't told me anything." MK scoffs. "He doesn't think I can handle knowing that his soul is corroding. But yo, I _saw_ it." He shudders.

"Oh." You say, sobered by this. "Uh. Would, uh, a magic transfusion work?"

MK stares at you. "He won't let me _near_ him, yo, he's afraid it's contagious or some shit. So I don't know, but thanks. Just- just please leave me alone right now."

"Okay, I hope you two figure it out." You pat his shoulder. He sniffles and nods.

"Yo, thanks. You're a good friend, Ryuk."

"What?? I'm the _best_ friend, of course!!" You cry melodramatically, then belatedly realize it's probably not helping.

"Fuck off, yo." But MK seems slightly cheered up by your silliness anyway.

"Okay, okay." You leave him alone and head to the kitchen. Wendi's down on the surface, so you cook for the skeleton crew who remained on the _Liltha_.

Most people seem to have forgiven, or at least let go of, your betrayal in Skoria. It's nice to be able to banter with your old friends again, even if there's still some stiffness and awkward pauses. But the one thing missing from everything now is Sans.

You don't regret slapping him or calling him out for his idiocy. But maybe you should have tried to stop Lilith's argument with him before it got too heated. And maybe you shouldn't have taunted him by flaunting your relationship with Lilith. Eh, he's still a dick, though.

But you do miss having him as your prank-buddy and friend. Maybe it all changed after Skoria, maybe your fuck-up made it impossible for him to ever see you as worthy of his and Lilith's friendship, and that hurts. You deserve the distrust, but it still hurts.

Lilith comes to the mess hall later and drags you away from chilling in the corner and watching people. Safe in her quarters, you hug her, nuzzling your nose in her soft scarf. She lifts your chin and kisses you, her rough tongue exploring the roof of your mouth.

"How do we do this?" You ask nervously. You've been with sedryn before, but those were all one-night stands, no soul stuff involved. A serious relationship like this always eluded you.

"May I?" She asks, gesturing to your chest.

"Y-yeah, sure."

She jerks her hand back and your soul pops out, dulling the color in your surroundings with the brilliance of its light. "Beautiful." She says and your soul skips with shiny bubbles of joy. You never really liked the sight of your own soul, and it's amazing to you that she thinks it's pretty.

You kiss her and your soul rubs against her ribcage, fluffy pleasure shocking your senses. She moans into the kiss, one hand gripping your head as the other caresses your soul. "Where's yours?" You growl into the kiss.

"Touch Me." She demands. You fall with her onto her bed and obey, stroking her coccyx and exploring the inside of her ribs. She gasps and a light coalesces in her sternum, then floats up- her soul. You kiss it and she moans, her hand clenching in your hair. Pleased by this reaction, you flick your tongue out.

Making her feel good makes you feel powerful, like you really are a dragon trapped in an adani skin. She writhes and arches her spine as you pleasure her in all the ways you know she likes, including her soul now. Your soul rubs up against hers and emotion electrocutes you with burning knives. It feels _right_. Lilith digs her teeth into your shoulder and you roll your hips against her pelvis, making sure your soul strokes hers at the same time.

She growls at your slow pace and flips you over, the feral desire in her gaze igniting your senses and exciting your lust. She takes you roughly and you react with equal fervor, loving her, knowing you'll be exhausted and sore later but later doesn't matter, only the _now_ matters.

As she comes, you bring her down with delicate laps at her soul and deft strokes of her pelvis and coccyx. She shudders pleasantly and then nips your soul with her sharp fangs. You yelp at the violent pleasure shoving you over the edge of the cliff. Floating in the afterglow, you nuzzle into her scarf and giggle deliriously. "I love you."

She hugs you and doesn't reply. But the comfort of her companionship is answer enough.

* * *

MK knocks on Luon's door. Luon answers, looking sickly, his scales dull and his eyes pained. "Oh, Mil-Gwedh." He says apologetically. "I-"

"You dummy, why didn't you let me heal you before it got this bad!!" MK cries, shoving the door open further. "You shouldn't have strained yourself!"

"I'm sorry, Mil-Gwedh, but I don't want it to spread to you."

"Fuck that, you damn idiot, let me see your soul. Doctor's orders." MK demands. Luon looks down sheepishly, then pulls out his own soul. MK winces at the spread of the tarry bloody corruption. "Alright, hold still." He says.

MK's hands press green fire to the corroding soul. Luon yelps in pain, but remains still. The corruption starts to drip away, burning the carpet. It takes more energy than MK thought it would, but finally he manages to halt the spread and cauterize the mutilated soul before it falls apart. When he's done and the darkness is gone, leaving Luon's beautiful teardrop-shaped soul looking like it got caught in a grinder, MK sways and collapses on the bed.

"I'm sorry, Mil-Gwedh." Luon says again. "I shouldn't have messed with DT."

"No _duh_." MK says tiredly. "Don't do it again."

"I won't." Luon promises.

MK falls asleep. When he wakes up a few hours later, he smells delicious stew. "Yo, I love you!!" He cries, hopping up.

Luon's copper scales hackle in the amlyg version of a blush. "I love you as well, Mil-Gwedh."

MK blushes too and then snatches the bowl of stew Luon hands to him. He gulps it down in one draught. "Thanks, yo."

"I should be thanking you." Luon retorts. "I would have died if you hadn't forced me to receive healing."

"Yo, no more dangerous experiments like that."

"Very well." Luon droops.

MK gives him a hug and a kiss. "Can I have more stew, yo?"

"Of course."

They spend the night cuddling and watching dumb old dramas, laughing at the sappiness together as they both hold hands. Of course, this eventually devolves into making out.

MK wakes up peacefully next to Luon on the couch, and hops up cheerfully to visit Ryuk. "Yo, Luon's okay!" He shouts to them.

Ryuk grins jauntily. "Great!"

MK grins back smarmily. "Soo, what were you and Lilith up to?"

Ryuk puffs out their cheeks, visibly pleased with themself. "Nothing." They lie.

"Fine, yo, no more of my awesome amazing cookies for you."

"Noo," They whine pitifully. "Mil-Gwedh, how could you do this to me??"

MK bats their head. "Dumbass."

"Fucker." They retort. "Oh, yeah, I can keep my haladie now, cause Lilith bailed on a fight." They sound slightly annoyed about that, and MK bats them again.

"What'd you name it??"

"Wha- Mil-Gwedh, you really think I'd name my weapon??"

"I bet you already did." MK smirks. "C'mon, yo, tell me."

Ryuk tries to glare unsuccessfully, embarrassed. "Fine, I named it Cactus," They admit. MK guffaws. Ryuk scowls at him. "Don't tell Lilith."

"Fine, yo." MK relents. "I'll keep your deep dark secret."

"Thanks, Mil-Gwedh, you're the _best_." They say facetiously. "Now fuck off before I tell Lil you're slacking."

"Agh, yo, you wouldn't! How could you use your love-making powers against your own friend!!" MK cries. Ryuk shoos him out, grinning, so he leaves them and goes to work out in the gym.

Lilith is in the gym as well when he arrives. She nods to him, moving through stances with her talwar. MK draws his scimitar and joins her. "Yo, you seem down." He notes.

"Nyeh, I wasn't expecting company." She replies.

"I thought you'd be happier now that you're finally with Ryuk." MK digs.

"I- I Miss Sans." Lilith admits. "I Wish He'd Just Accept Me Instead Of Trying To Force Me To Be What He Wants." Then she tries to force a smile. "But It Will All Be Fixed When We Get To The Milky Way!"

MK wonders why she's so sure of that, and remembers Frisk. "Yo, you're planning to have Frisk reset?"

"Wh-What, N-No, Nyeh Heh, I'm Supposed To Send Frisk Down To The Planet In Exile After The Invasion!" Lilith cries hastily.

MK gives her a suspicious glare. "Whatever, yo, I don't think she can reset anymore anyway, since Luon split her soul. Unless she gets Chara to help her, maybe."

Lilith flinches, horror flashing in her sockets for a moment. "O-Oh." She says nervously. "Nyeh- Heh- Good?"

"Yo, that was your plan, wasn't it." MK accuses, angered by the thought of losing Luon.

Lilith shuts down, cold anger making her gaze frigid. She sheathes her talwar and puts it in her inventory, then strides out. MK scoffs, happy that Frisk can't reset anymore, but furious with Lilith and Ryuk for not asking his opinion on their desired reset. He woulda told them both where to shove it. Of course, Ryuk had to know. There's no way Lilith would hide it from them while fucking them.

* * *

"kid, i gotta question for ya." Sans corners Frisk in the hall after she's been successfully avoiding him for days.

"Yeah, Sansy?"

"ya can still reset, right? this whole split-soul thing won't mess that up, will it?"

Frisk giggles, hiding her annoyance. "I think if I worked with Chara, we could do it." She's not sure, but the two are still connected by the same soul, even though it's split in half.

"please, kid. i'm beggin' ya, you gotta reset and give me my brother back." Sans says.

"Sure, Sansy." Frisk says, irritated at the reminder of the chain, the _geas_ on her half of the soul. Chara got an easy one. Frisk's the one who has to fear for her very existence.

She stomps away from Sans and finds Chara sitting with Bracken in their quarters. "Hey, Chara." She raps sharply against the wall.

Chara blinks their red eyes at her, annoyed. "What."

"You need to help me reset when we get back."

"Why should I do that." Chara retorts.

"Cause I'll stop existing if you don't!"

"Haha, wouldn't that be great!" Bracken laughs. Frisk glares at him.

"Sans said please."

"Wowie, the smiley trashbag said _please_." Bracken mocks.

"Be nice, Ree." Chara scolds.

"Anything for you, Love." Bracken purrs and kisses Chara. Frisk bleps at the two, disgusted. "But yeah, sure, I'll reset if you two can't." He smirks.

Frisk glares at him, suspicious. "Wait, you _would_ have control, wouldn't you! Our soul is divided, so- UGH!! No!! This is so unfair!!" She stomps her feet on the floor.

Bracken bares his teeth in a vicious grin. "Oh, I'm going to have _so much fun_."

"We'll see." Chara says. "Our soul might still count as one, so we might have control together." Frisk hopes and prays that's the scenario.

"Ha, you _wish_." Bracken crows. "If I take another soul, I could easily win the reigns and then set everything back _so far_ you never come down in the first place!"

Frisk perks up. "Would- would we forget everything?"

Bracken shrugs, smirking. "Maybe."

Frisk plops onto the couch beside Chara and bites her nails, considering this. "Wait, wouldn't me and Chara be put back together again??"

"Beats me. Maybe you'll stay apart. The timeline might accommodate you." Bracken says airily, but Frisk is sure he'd prefer to have Chara separate from her.

"Ugh, whatever, just don't let me stop existing!" Frisk demands.

"Fine, fine." Bracken agrees. "You get a reset, Rus gets a reset, everyone gets a reset!"

* * *

Undyne is starting to get suspicious that Papyrus is trying to hide from her when he never answers her calls. She tugs on Ross's hand and he prances after her as she strides into the bridge of the _Heryn_. "Mama, where's Tonton?"

"Fuhuhu, Tonton is visiting the _Alaco_." Undyne noogies her son lightly.

"I wanna play with him!" Ross pouts.

"You can play with Lieutenant Marcella." Undyne gives him a shove towards the tactics console, where there's a box of toys hidden underneath the computer. She gives Marcella a stern look like '_I'll notice if you're slacking off to entertain my son_'. Of course, she'd actually be pleased if that were the case, but she has a reputation to uphold. Marcella snickers as though she knows exactly what Undyne means, and shakes one of the makeshift toys for Ross to pounce on.

The toys aren't anything special, just some wood-carved starships and metal scraps melted into models of rocket cars. Undyne's science officer, Ensign Gh'mii, made the metal ones, while Marcella and a few starmas who have experience with woodworking created the others from wood taken from the planets they'd visited. This planet has great wood for carving, and Marcella has even started teaching Undyne how to do it.

Trusting Marcella to keep an eye on Ross, Undyne goes into her office to try to call Papyrus again. He answers finally after the third call. "WH-WHAT?" His voice sounds strained, like he wasn't expecting a call at this hour in the shift.

"Fuhuhu!!" Undyne cries. "Papyrus, I'm coming over to whip your ass, you fucking ingrate, I keep trying to call you!!"

"N-NOW'S NOT A GOOD TIME, UNDYNE!" He retorts.

"You shoulda thought of that _before_ you started ignoring me!" Undyne cheers, then wickedly smirks. "So, how's Ryuk?"

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW??"

"You're in bed with them, aren't you, punk!!" Undyne cackles gleefully.

"M-Maybe." Papyrus admits. "But That's None Of Your Business!!"

Undyne sobers and says, "Punk, I heard a rumor Frisk is on the _Alaco_. That true? Are you hiding her from us??"

"NYEH- HEH- NO??" His tone comes out strangled. "I- I WOULDN'T LIE TO YOU, UNDYNE."

"Debatable." Undyne says with a sharp laugh. "You can be pretty sneaky when you want to _win_." The silence from the other end is all she needs to confirm his guilt. "I'm going to kill Frisk, punk."

"CAN YOU WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE INVASION?" Papyrus begs.

"Yeah, alright." Undyne relents. "Did Ryuk know??"

"N-No." Papyrus confesses in a smaller voice.

"Ngah, I guess we can both kick your ass after the invasion." Undyne growls. "At least I know now why you were avoiding me!! I've got work to do, though, and you've got a squirt to confess to, so see ya." She ends the call and stomps back onto the bridge.

She sits on her chair and grins angrily at the _Liltha_ orbiting ahead of her ship a few kilometers away. "Get Tonton on the line, tell him to kill Frisk." She orders. "If he won't, then get Sans to do it or something."

"Sir, foreign ships incoming!" Marcella reports. Ross looks up at the screen, giggling with excitement as twenty-one huge battle-cruisers join the Gil-Mista fleet in orbiting Angelass.

"Get in contact with the _Liltha_." Undyne grumbles, wishing she had a translator for Aggelos. "Have them relay the transcript to the fleet."

The screen comes up with the _Liltha'_s bridge. Undyne glares at Papyrus, but then her attention is stolen by the hologram of a star in the center.

Static echoes through the channel. Undyne nearly orders her coms officer to turn it off, but then on the other side of the screen, Ryuk translates. "They say they'll allow us to assist with the invasion, and we'll receive our orders in a few minutes."

That's it?? Undyne doesn't trust the dumb powerful star-like Aggelos. She doesn't even really want to go back to the Milky Way, except for the sake of her son. When she gets back, she'll retire from space and settle down on a nice planet to raise Ross.

Marcella approaches Undyne afterwards, holding Ross's hand to guide him back to his mom. "Sir, would you like to join me for dinner later?"

"Ngah, sure." Undyne rubs the back of her head. Marcella helped her shave her warrior's wolf-tail into a war-hawk after Ross was born and most of her other officers spurned her for the destruction of the _Paen_ and for attacking her own weapons officer. The tall stout adani woman lost her own wife to Asgore in Skoria, so- well, it's something to empathize with. Alphys would be happy Undyne is making friends.

Marcella pats Undyne's shoulder with a gentle dark-bronze hand. Her right arm had to amputated at the shoulder, so now she's a cyborg, which is pretty epic. The robotic hand passes Ross's hand to Undyne's.

"See ya." Undyne waves and then stomps out to take Ross for a run through the ship.

* * *

The fleet moves out, surrounded by the Aggelos starships. Lilith has been avoiding looking at you ever since Undyne called, which was only a few minutes before you and she were called to the bridge due to the Aggelos. You couldn't hear Undyne's end of the conversation, but you're still suspicious of the odd guilt in Lilith's countenance.

Before she can sit back down on her chair, you get up and go to her, taking her hand and dragging her to her office. Inside, you shut the door. "What??" She demands, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Where is Frisk?" You ask. She flinches, trying to pull her hand from yours, but you hold onto her. "She's not on the planet, is she. You kept her with us, you still want her to reset!"

"S-SO WHAT!!" She snaps. "IT DOESN'T MATTER!! WE'RE ALL GOING HOME!! EVERY LAST ONE OF US, EVEN THE ONES WHO DIED HERE, FRISK WILL BRING THEM BACK AND THEN WE'LL NEVER HAVE TO- WE'LL NEVER COME BACK HERE AGAIN!"

Tears sting in your sockets, but cold ice is all you feel. "Seriously?" You cry. Lilith crosses her arms, glowering at the ground. "You _bitch_, you lied to me this whole time?!" You want to be angry. You want to be horrified. But those feelings are distant and unreachable, you can only sense them as though through a glass wall.

"YOU CAN'T STOP THIS." She says, squeezing your hand gently. You let go, stung. "JUST ACCEPT IT. THE NEXT TIME WILL BE BETTER."

"Is that what helps you sleep after you fuck up?? Because you know _god _will sweep all your mistakes away and- and kiss your booboos and make it all perfect??" You choke on a sob. "Th-that's not how the fucking world works!! There's no guarantee!!"

"YES, THERE IS! FRISK-"

"To _HELL_ with Frisk!!" You shriek. "I don't _care_ about her, I care about _you_!! But you're saying you want to throw this- throw _me_ away like I- like I'm just-" Your fists shakily clench as you glare at the blurry ground. "-just garbage." A bubble of hysteria pops in your chest. She never said she loved you. And now all her desperation to make every moment last makes perfect sense. "Heh heh, that's all I am to you, a worthless piece of shit to use and then discard."

"WILL YOU STOP MAKING THIS ABOUT YOU??" Lilith snarls. "THIS IS ABOUT-"

"_You_. Yeah. I got that." You growl back dully. "Good to know you never respected me." Lilith's silence says everything you needed to hear. "Good to kn-know- we're just two b-broken people who shouldn't- shouldn't be together."

"That's not what I meant!" She cries crossly, stomping her foot.

"I'm leaving, asshole." You stride for the door. "Good luck with your reset."You walk out and she doesn't stop you, even though your soul begs her to.

You reach Esther's quarters and stuff all your favorite things into a blanket, then haul that to the hangar. Take one of the runabouts that can cloak. You don't want to be followed. You'll stay in Andromeda, maybe join the Vaux, make a new life for yourself. You _can't_ go back to your mom.

The runabout comes to life with your hands on the controls. You detach the mooring clamps and the runabout rises, then the airlock opens and you fly out, just barely avoiding crashing into the sides as you can't see for all the tears burning your eyes and the pain in your chest. Then you're out in space, flying amongst the combined fleet of Aggelos and Gil-Mista.

You thought she loved you. She said she adored you. But no. She wants to be a bitch and erase everything, everyone's lives, everyone's accomplishments. Resets are nothing but pure destruction, yet she's depending on it to improve everything.

It's not fair! How can she want to erase _everything_ just- just for the sake of a few?? Just for her own sake. Because she can't abide loose ends and hates being out of control.

Weaving through the hundreds of Aggelos ships, you let out an angry frustrated scream, which turns terrified as one of them locks onto your runabout with a tractor beam. Desperately, you try to fight it. The Aggelos starship's hangar opens, a maw to swallow you whole.

There's only one option. Even death would be better than being captured by the Aggelos. "Self-destruct, code two-nine-alpha!!" You shriek to the computer.

"Self-destruct activated." The computer replies calmly. "In ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Fi-" The engine dies along with the electronicsas soon as it enters the hangar through the repulsor field that serves instead of an airlock.

No- no, no, this can't be happening, you have to hide! You hastily shove yourself into the maintenance tunnel, hoping they don't think to look here.

"Exit the runabout." A voice commands in Republic Common, the language that everyone's been using when speaking to the Aggelos. They learned it quickly. "Or we will destroy it and rewind as many times as it takes for you to obey."

Dread coalesces in your bones. "W-wait-" You cry and drop down out of the tunnel.

"Exit."

You open the hatch and squint at the bright stars surrounding the runabout. "Okay, okay. I- I, uh, was just running a quick mission for my Admiral. Am I free to go?"

"You were deserting the fleet." One aggelos accuses.

"I- uh, well, heh, I just- needed to run back to the planet we just left, cause we forgot some of our people there!" You come up with the lie quickly and pray they buy it. 

"Nobody is allowed to leave the fleet." The aggelos says sternly. "Return to your ship. Obey and you will be spared."

"Ha, not for long though, right, W-R?" Another aggelos chuckles in their own language, assuming you can't understand.

"Silence." W-R retorts, then speaks to you again, "Do not attempt to leave, do not attempt to disobey our orders, or you will be destroyed."

You nod quickly. "Y-yeah, but- but please can I get the people we left behind?"

"Trust me, they're better off, rat." The other aggelos laughs at you, still speaking in their language.

"Why?"

W-R flickers blue-green like a stormy sea and you shrink upon realizing your mistake, gulping. "You know too much."

"N-no, I d-don't know anything," You plead.

"We're entering the wormhole, Erudite W-R!" A third aggelos calls from a control room.

W-R pins you with their attention. "I won't waste a rewind on you."

You drop to your knees to beg, "N-no, please, wait-!!" But they grab you with invisible pressure and toss you out of the repulsor field. A scream rips from your lungs, but your breath is stolen the next moment by the vacuum of chaos. The starships pass you as you're flung about by the psychedelic winds._ You don't want to die like this_. As though the terror imbues you with determination, you remember the dirty candy in your inventory. You snatch it and swallow it without a second thought.

It burns. And then it explodes, golden arcs of lightning shuddering through your body. Light blazes from your soul, joy, whimsy, love, anger- _wings unfurling from your back, scales bursting from your skin, claws and talons writhing- _but bloody darkness rises up and swallows it. All the terror, all the wrath, all the despair eats you alive, gnawing you to shred, corroding your soul as you scream.

Then the agony ends and leaves you colorless and dull. Light breaks you apart painlessly and puts you back together, but you barely notice the difference, apathy making you listless.

Arms gather you in a hug, the girl you once loved wailing, "I'M SORRY!!" But you- you can't care. It doesn't matter. You don't matter.

None of this matters.

* * *

Green fire blazes into Ryuk's body, but it's not enough. They won't wake up and Lilith can't find the fucking wound. Desperately, she swallows the DT-infused drop. Golden fire blazes through her body, but she withstands the darkness that gnaws at her soul, willing her power to save them. She presses her hands to their chest and forces healing into their body. The darkness burns away in the light, leaving her soul gilded in determination.

They don't react. Tears drip from Lilith's chin onto their deathly colorless skin, all to no avail. A cheer echoes through the _Liltha_. They're in the Milky Way again. They're all home. Lilith holds Ryuk's limp body in her arms and weeps. She has to beg Chara and Frisk to work together to make a reset so she won't have to remember this.

The world stutters. Lilith presses her forehead to Ryuk's. "Goodbye, My Friend." She murmurs. Frisk and Chara will fix everything. One last time.

The world stutters. Lilith presses her forehead to Ryuk's. "Goodbye, My- My Friend-" She stops short, wondering why she feels like she said that already.

The world stutters. Lilith presses her forehead- wait, hasn't she done this?? She stands up and-

The world stutters. Lil- no, stop! This can't be right, this shouldn't be happening!

The world stutters. Lilith screams furiously.

Ryuk's hand raises to her jaws and presses against her teeth. Her scream sputters to a halt and she gathers them in her arms hopefully. They just blink dully at her, their eyes each a black void. "Will you shut up."

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SO FUCKING RUDE!! I WAS SCARED YOU WERE DEAD!!" Lilith snaps back.

Ryuk brushes Lilith away and stands up stiffly. "Why should you worry about a broken _android_." They say with dead dryness.

"B-BECAUSE I- I LOVE YOU! AND I'M SORRY FOR LYING TO YOU, AND I'M SORRY I WANT TO RESET, I JUST WANT TO MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER FOR BOTH OF US!!"

Their head cocks unnaturally to the side. "Love?"

The atmosphere shatters around Lilith. "Y-YOU- YOU LOVED ME, D-DIDN'T YOU?"

"This android, R-6, is programmed to only love the Mother." Ryuk replies tonelessly.

If this is some sort of practical joke, it's _not funny_. Lilith yanks at Ryuk's soul-

Only to produce a corrupted blood-red mass, dripping with corrosive magic. Lilith drops to her knees heavily. Ryuk just stares at her with their dead eyes. "Th-This Is All My Fault!" She wails into her hands.

A hand pats her head awkwardly. "Why do you cry," Ryuk says.

"B-Because I Drove Away Everyone Who Loves Me Just So That I Could Have A Chance To Erase This Life." Lilith sobs. "But- But I Can't Fix This, Can I. Can I??"

"I don't know." The shell that used to be Ryuk says.

**_The_** **_world_** **_shatters_**.

Cold flurries whip around the skeleton kneeling alone in the snow, tears freezing on frigid cheekbones.


	28. Thriving

Trapped, Lilith can barely breathe. There aren't any stars. She staggers through the snow-covered forest alone, limping painfully as the cold creeps into the transition of her prosthetic leg. This is what she asked for. But she can't forget Ryuk's lifeless voice, their corrupted soul, their blank eyes. If they remember like she does, they're sure to hate her now, if they can still feel anything at all.

A laugh echoes through the tree-covered cliffs. Lilith recognizes it and limps for the source. She stops short at the edge of a clearing. "Bracken?" She ventures cautiously.

The sedryn made of writhing vines and flowers grins at her, showing off his hickory-thorn fangs. "Howdy, Papyrus! How'd you know it was little old me?"

Lilith winces and steps into the clearing. "I'm Lilith, Now." She says.

Bracken's grin widens. "Haha, you remember, huh? This is great! Now we can have some _real_ fun!" Vines burst from the ground and bind Lilith's wrists and ankles. She relaxes into the restraints. "So, how do you remember?"

"I Think It Was The DT-Infused Drops Luon Made." She replies.

"Gee, MK lied to me, that ass." Bracken scoffs. "Let me see your soul, Lil."

Lilith lets him yank her soul from her body. It shines golden, with a sliver of dead brownish-red at the tip. "Ryuk's soul corrupted com-completely." She admits, quiet with guilt. "It's all my fault."

"Golly, Lil, I did this for you. You could show a bit of gratitude."

"Thank you." Lilith replies dully. "But I wish I forgot everything like I was supposed to."

Bracken approaches and pushes her skirt up to her knees to look at her metal leg. "I'm glad you remember, Lil. Gee, it makes it more fun."

"Fuck you." Lilith growls, tired bitterness rising to the front of her soul. The blood-like sliver shivers and a tendril cracks through the gold, making her yelp in pain.

"You're gonna need a soul healer." Bracken says, tapping her soul with his sharp oak talons. "Or your soul will corrode too."

"I don't care." Lilith snarls. "Let it. Maybe I'll- _ow_-" She yelps again as two pains happen at the same time, the pain of the sliver driving deeper and the pain of a phalange fracturing in the tight wind of a vine. She goes limp in submission.

"Golly, one setback and all the sudden the Great and Lovely Lilith gives up. What a shame." Bracken says. "I'd heal you myself but healing isn't my specialty. It _is_ yours."

Lilith glares at the ground. "There's No Point In Redoing Everything." She snarls.

"But that's exactly what you wanted Frisk to do." Bracken points out, and snaps another finger. Lilith grits her teeth against the tears welling in her sockets. "That's exactly what I'm doing for you, Lil." Another _snap_, her middle finger, and Lilith tenses when a vine winds gently around her ring finger. "Heal yourself any time, friend."

She snarls angrily at him, struggling against the vines restraining her. "Why Should I!!"

"Color." Bracken says sternly.

Lilith stops struggling. "Purple," She mutters. The code for '_it's working so keep going_', a step below orange.

Bracken smirks. "Gee, if only your brother could see you like this, he'd be thrown through a loop, huh. Crying already? Not so strong, are you, Lil. Not so tough as you used to be." He caresses Lilith's face, wiping the tears away.

"F-Fu-uck you-" Lilith gasps as her left radius and ulna are snapped in two. The rising pain burns, unable to be ignored. She revels in it.

"Golly, so rude," Bracken scolds. "You know better."

"Th-Thank You." Lilith corrects, anticipation prickling in every bone as vines wind close around her like a menacing yet safe hug. "But How Am I Supposed To Fix Any Of This??"

"Trust me, Lil, I have a plan." Bracken says. "And that plan involves you _not_ getting a corrupted soul. So heal yourself."

Lilith puffs out her ribcage haughtily. "I Was The Admiral Of A Fleet. What Gives You The Right To Give Me Orders??"

Bracken grins at her, pats her head, and breaks her ribs. Lilith's teeth grind against a scream. "I could do this all day, Lil. And then I can reset and do it again."

"B-blue." Lilith safe-words, nearly whimpering from all the pain.

"Golly, Lil, so soon? Heal yourself." Bracken orders.

Lilith glares at the ground. "I couldn't heal them." She growls.

"You can't help anyone if you're always moping about past mistakes. Accept you fucked up and move on." Bracken says.

Green fire blossoms from Lilith's fractured bones as the vines hold them in place. When her bones are healed, the vines around her ankles and wrists retract, giving her mobility again. Bracken gestures to her soul. Lilith grumbles under her breath, but presses the healing fire to the sliver of blood.

It shivers and shoots out another tendril, wiggling deeper. "_FUCK._" Lilith curses at the sharp pain. "I- I Can't."

Bracken frowns. "Gee, maybe someone else has to do it. Just- avoid negative intent and emotions, and it should stay small."

"bro!" Sans's voice calls distantly through the snow and wind.

"Great, it's the smiley trashbag. See ya, Lil. Trust me, I'll fix everything." All Bracken's component pieces separate before slipping into the ground.

Lilith takes a deep breath of cold air, gingerly putting weight on her prosthetic leg. Bracken's restraints had kept it out of the snow for a short time, but now it hurts again. She realizes belatedly that she's wearing a skirt still, so she ducks behind a tree to hide from Sans as she hastily changes into pants.

Sans knocks on the other side of the tree. "hey, Paps." He says. "you, uh, ready to apologize?"

"For What??" Lilith snaps, recalling her argument with him in the _Liltha_.

"bro, c'mon, you just shouted at me for no reason in front of grillbz."

Lilith frowns, trying to recall what day this is. Sans doesn't seem to remember anything from the past timeline. Lucky him. "I Apologize." She says stiffly, then limps around the tree to Sans. Seeing her brother standing there with his signature grin and lackadaisical manner causes tears to spring in her sockets.

She tries to hug him, but he brushes her off. "nope, no hugs for you, mister. i'm still pissed with ya."

"Please?" She begs him. "Just One?"

"no. c'mon, Paps, yer a tough kid." Sans retorts. Lilith droops and starts to limp back to town. Sans walks beside her. "who hurt ya?"

"Nobody." She says, but Sans grabs her arm.

"bro, you didn't hurt yerself again, did ya??" He growls.

"N-NO, I'M FINE!!" Lilith snaps. "IT'S OLD."

"ya never limped like that before."

"I'm A Time Traveler."

Sans chuckles. "heh, yup, you an' me both, bro. but that doesn't explain the limp."

"NO, I MEAN I TRAVELLED BACK FROM THE FUTURE!!" Lilith cries in frustration.

"oh." Sans says. "what's the passcode?"

"I Refuse To Indulge Your Immaturity." Lilith says stiffly.

"okay, okay, i'll give it to ya this once. so, was it a nice future?"

"Not- Not Particularly, No." Lilith says, guilt weighing her down until she thinks of all the deaths, and pain, and arguments with Sans, and Ryuk's corrupted soul. She has to fix everything.

"welp, i'm glad i forgot it then." Sans shrugs. "too much work to worry about a past future."

"May I Have A Hug Now?"

"i suppose so."

* * *

Undyne stares at the baby on her porch. Ugh. Damn Papyrus must have dropped him off to make her go soft. The baby bares his teeth and growls at a snail, then grins up at her. "Mama, where's stars?"

Well, the kid's old enough to talk, so he's old enough to fight. "What's your name, squirt?" Undyne grunts.

"Ross!" The squirt pounces at her. Undyne picks him up by the scruff of his feathered neck and scowls coldly at him.

"Listen up, squirt, there's a few rules you're gonna follow if you're gonna stay with me."

"Mama make rules!!" Ross crows, then nips Undyne's arm, gnawing at the armor.

Undyne sets him down. "First, you don't touch the piano."

"What's piano?" Ross asks.

Undyne points to the grand piano in the corner of her house. "That. Second, you eat what I give you and don't waste anything."

"Yes, mama!" Ross nuzzles her leg. Weakness curls around Undyne's soul.

"Ngah." She scoffs. "I can't do this. Come on, squirt. You're going back to that fu-reaking bas- jerk Papyrus."

"Mama hate Pappy?" Ross squirms in her arms as she picks him up. "Why mama take me to jerk Pappy?"

"I'm not your mother." Undyne says coldly.

Ross goes still. Then he starts bawling. Undyne scoffs, deeply uncomfortable with the wild emotions the squirt is displaying. Asgore would tell her to beat it out of him like Asgore's done to her. "Okay, fine, squirt, you can call me _mama_ if you want. And you can stay here." She relents. 

"Mama joke?"

Undyne sighs, but a smile lifts at her lips. "Yeah. Mama joke."

Ross nips her hand. "Not funny joke, mama bad."

Undyne makes up her mind to thrash Papyrus for doing this to her. But she'll keep the squirt safe and healthy. Something inside her reacts to him as though she's already felt the agony of birthing him and the love of a mother for their child.

She calls Papyrus up on her phone. "Hey, punk." She snarls as Ross nibbles at a sandwich. "What the heck are you thinking, dropping off a baby at my door??"

"I'M SORRY, UNDYNE!!" Papyrus wails from the other end. "YOU TOLD ME TO NOT RESET, BUT I DISOBEYED!!"

Undyne blinks in confusion. "Ngah, slow down, punk."

"I- I'm A Time-Traveler." Papyrus admits in a quieter voice. "I Came From The Future. You Had A Baby. I Suppose Somehow Ross Must Have Come Back With You??"

"Fuhuhu, _I_ had a _baby_??" Undyne snaps in disbelief. "With who??"

"Alphys." Papyrus says.

"Who's that?" Undyne asks, feeling an odd pervasive sense of loss. She doesn't like it, since it makes her want to cry. She decides to go harder on Papyrus in the next sparring session.

"Fuck. I'll Tell You Later." Papyrus hangs up on her.

Undyne frowns and goes to her computer. Captain Doge might know who this Alphys is. Undyne's fists clench. "I'll find you." She snarls quietly, as though afraid Asgore will hear her passion and punish her for it.

* * *

Light shines in your eyes. You try to turn your head away, but you're trapped. Metal restraints bind your ankles and wrists. Distantly, you realize this is the worst case scenario, but in the moment, you can't find the capacity to care.

"R-6," _Her_ sweet voice says. "I'm disappointed in you." She leans over you, her hair falling in your face. "I suppose you thought you were being clever when you ran away from me."

"Apologies, mother." Your voice says, yet it's _not_ your voice, it's too dead and apathetic to be your voice. "What's the punishment this time."

"Losing all your memories of the lost future would have been punishment enough, dearest." She purrs, running her hands through your hair. "Except you remember, don't you. I can't allow you to get away with thinking you can abandon me any time you want."

You should be terrified, you realize. You should be begging her for mercy, or trying to come up with a believable lie to lighten the sentence. But you can't feel anything. "M-my soul is-" You stammer.

Mom yanks your soul out with a gesture and you see the full extent of the corrosion and corruption. The soul isn't colorful anymore, it's just a mass of bloody tar. "Oh, dear, I'm afraid I can't fix that." She says. "You naughty child, I've told you before to not play with magic."

You spot a sliver of gold at the tip before she pushes your soul back into your body. "Please forgive me, mom." You say, trying to inject pathos into your voice. "I- I'll do whatever you want."

"I know, dearest." She says gently. "But I'm afraid I can't keep a rogue experiment, R-6. You'll only be in the way."

Distant glassy fear stirs in your mind. You don't want to die. Not again. Death hurts, and mom won't rewind you to let you live again. Agony will be the last thing you ever experience. "The Aggelos are going to conquer this galaxy." You say. "I can help."

"How did you know that?" She demands, clenching her fist in your hair.

"I was in Andromeda!" You confess, bitterness gnawing at your soul with the memory of Lilith. She doomed you to this suffering. "I ran away onto a starship, and they were stolen into Andromeda by a wormhole, and we met the Aggelos and I died again and I found out they planned to invade this galaxy!" The words spurt from your mouth desperately.

Mom considers your ramblings, still keeping her painful grip in your hair. "You have no useful skills other than the ones I gave you, R-6, what makes you think you'd be useful to us?"

"I can cook." You offer. "And I can fight."

She laughs at that. "You?? Fight?? You weren't programmed to fight, dearest, you were programmed to be a good child and be useful with technology, but you've failed to even succeed at those. You are a failure, R-6, and failures are disassembled and terminated."

The fear wells into terror and you struggle uselessly against the restraints. "N-no, I can fight! Let me out and I'll show you!! I- I'll be a good child, too, I swear it on my honor, just please don't kill me!"

"An android has no honor." She says, and the harsh words burn in your corrupted soul. "And it would not be killing, since you are not alive in the first place."

"I have a soul!" You cry.

She shakes her head. "No, you are merely a vessel for whatever soul I transplant into you. You are not _alive_ and you never were."

Tears sting your eyes. "No, please, mom, I'll be good, I'll do whatever you want, mom, please don't do this!" She turns away. "I love you, mom, please, I thought you loved me!" You hate yourself as you plead with the lies.

"Oh, R-6," Mom turns back, a slender surgical knife in her hand. Your tears burn down your temples as you struggle in vain. "I love you still. But if you truly loved me, you never would have run away."

"N-no," You whimper, terror consuming your soul. Dark tendrils flicker out from your chest, pain creeping up your ribcage. "M-mom- please, I don't want to die!"_ You're determined to live._ Your head snaps out of the vise and you twist in a violent effort to break free of the other restraints. The dark burgundy tendrils blossom from your wrists and ankles, corroding the metal. Mom backs away with a gasp, clattering into her vivisection equipment.

You're free. Growling with bitter wrath and fiery terror in your soul, you roll off the bed and sidle towards the door. Mom laughs. "Dearest, I'm so proud of you! This was all a test to activate your latent powers! Now come here like a good child and sit down so I can-"

"So you can study me like an experiment and then kill me when I fail to perform to your expectations??" You snarl, the tendrils burning through your skin and muscles and bones. "So you can pretend we're a cutesy normal family while you take me apart like some freakishly sadistic mad scientist??"

"R-6, sit down before I decide to punish you." She hardens her voice, and her appearance begins to shift to her true form, light flaring from her eyes.

"N-no!" You cry, reaching the door, only to find it's locked by a passcode. "I won't let you control me!"

"Come here, R-6." She blazes, the static of her words like lightning to your senses.

"No!! I'm Ryuk!!" You sense your haladie in your inventory begging to be driven into mom's chest.

Mom grabs you with her telekinesis and drags you closer as you struggle against it. The dark tendrils dig into your shoulder-blades and you can feel them arching out like wings as you fight to make her release you.

Then she's right in front of you, grim anger in her stormy flares. Your hand lashes out, calling desperately to your weapon. She doesn't move since you're not close enough to hit her. So the blade of your haladie slicing through the illusory plasma takes her completely by surprise, her fire tinging pink with shock and ichor.

Baring your teeth, you spin Cactus around and stab her as her telekinesis falters. All your wrath and hatred races like angry ants down your arm and into the haladie, turning the blades a roiling obsidian.Mom screams as you twist the keen point deeper into her core. She crashes against the wall. You want her_ dead_.

Mom shatters into a fine rose-gold powder. A hysterical laugh chokes out of your burning lungs as you collapse onto the ground, tears dripping onto the dust. The silver plate she used to keep her tools organized shifts on the floor as your knee hits it. Your own reflection stares at you, sleek scales the color of dried blood scattered across your death-pale face and arms.

Ripping off the medical gown your mom had you wearing, you poke at the scales on your chest and stomach. Looking back into your reflection, you touch the furrowed horns sweeping back in strong spirals from your head. Rising behind you, spiky wing-bones shift as swirling tendrils of dark fog form webs between each phalange.

You stand up, then nearly lose your balance at the shift in your leg-bones, but your tail whips around to steady you, the fan at the end flaring wide. Your webbed talons clench in your blurry stare. Hot tears drip down your blunt scaled muzzle and you lick them off your lips, nearly cutting your forked tongue on your sharp fangs.

Fucking hell. You're a dragon.


	29. Under The Knife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: suicide, domestic abuse
> 
> At this point, the quality goes downhill, since I passed the climax and started focusing on trying to clean up the loose ends.

****TW: ABUSE/SUICIDE****

Waking up to cursing and shouting isn't the most pleasant of times. Frisk groans and hides her head under her pillow. Mama came home drunk again at five in the morning and now a crash of silverware against the wall heralds papa's snap into crazed fury. Papa always beats mama when she comes home drunk. But mama never seems to learn, and then papa has a tendency to be shorter-tempered the rest of the day; more likely to snap at Frisk.

She rolls out of bed and slips into her slippers, then selects her favorite purple and cyan sweater from the closet, pulling it over her t-shirt. The bagginess partially hides her chubby belly. Papa has been starving her in an effort to make her thinner, but mama sneaks her food and alcohol at night. Frisk has never allowed herself to get drunk, too scared to be found out and punished by papa.

Today's the day, though. She and mama have plans for a picnic, and not even papa can ruin this. She skips out of her room, grinning as she bounds down the staircase. Papa smacks mama with a belt in the living room as mama cries, but Frisk ignores them and goes into the kitchen in search of breakfast.

Mama's wails start to grate on Frisk's nerves. She giggles and checks under the counter for cereal. Papa's hidden pistol stares at her, beckoning. No, no, she can't do anything so obvious. Papa would rush to a healer.

Frisk finally settles on making a piece of toast and chomps it as she watches papa punish mama. Papa finally shoves mama to the floor and stomps away into his den to watch television. Frisk finishes her toast and helps mama up. "Hee hee, are we going on a picnic?"

Mama gives her a sorrowful smile and wipes the tears from Frisk's eyes as she says, "Sure, Fred." Frisk grins and pretends mama said the right name.

Mama and Frisk will be having a picnic on Mt. Ebott, a haunted place where the ancient and cruel monsters were locked away for their crimes. Nice monsters coexist with humans in special districts here on Mars. But they're lesser lifeforms and so they don't have the same rights as humans.

When the two leave the house, mama locks the door behind herself and then lets Frisk drive the hover car to Mt. Ebott. Frisk is seventeen, quite old enough to do everything a proper adult can do. Mama gets out of the car when the two arrive, and then starts up the mountain. Frisk looks in the trunk and grabs the bottle of whiskey and the box of bandaids, then runs after mama.

She trips and falls on a slope of rocks, cutting her knee. Mama doesn't even slow down. Frisk quickly pulls out one of the bandaids, all of them old and used more than once, and sticks it over the gash.

When she catches up with mama again, mama is staring into a cave. Frisk stares at the cliff behind mama, amazed by the view. "I'm sorry, Fred." Mama says. "I can't handle the responsibility."

Frisk grins back. "It's okay, mama, I can be responsible for both of us!"

Mama smiles sadly, taking a step backwards towards the cliff. "Keep smiling." She says. "I love your smile."

Frisk nods and obeys, stretching her lips as far as they'll go, so far that it hurts. Mama steps backwards again. And again. Frisk notices she has one step left before her feet meet air. She keeps grinning. Mama wouldn't abandon her. Mama is her family. Family might hurt each other, but they don't abandon each other.

Mama steps onto air and falls with a scream. Frisk rushes to the edge and stares over as mama hits the ground far below with a red splatter.

"M-mama," Frisk giggles, dimly aware of her wet cheeks and burning eyes. "You dummy, I don't have enough bandaids!"

Mama doesn't respond. Frisk staggers back. Horror bleeds into her. "No!!" She screams with rage. "No, no, no!!" She screams until her voice grows hoarse and her dried-out eyes itch. The shadows grow thick and long.

Monsters might come out and eat her, so she does the sensible thing and darts into the cave to keep safe. It's even darker inside. She wanders along, wondering when mama will jump out and cry that it was all just a practical joke, just like when her uncle shot himself in the head before sitting up and announcing that the gun was fake, loaded with ketchup and horseradish sauce.

A vine trips her, and she tries to catch her fall with her hands but meets empty air. Her scream is abruptly silenced by the ground far below.

****TW END****

When she comes to, she's in a soft bed. She wriggles in the warm blankets and hums happily. Mama must have found her and brought her back home. She opens her eyes.

"_AAAAA_!!" She screams and scrambles away from the huge furry monster blinking down at her with dark red eyes. The monster holds up one of its four hands and paws the air.

"Greetings," It says. "Don't be afraid. I am Chorus."

"Wh-what?" Frisk stammers, her back pressed against the corner. "Where am I?? Where's mama??"

"You're in the Ruins, and I don't know." Chorus says gently. "If you want to go home, you'll face many who will try to take your soul."

"I don't want to be eaten."

Chorus snorts. "Nobody will eat you."

"Oh, okay, then." Frisk says cheerily, acting cute to get what she wants. "Can you come with me? I'd feel safer if there was a big scary monster protecting me from the other big scary monsters."

"Someone else will accompany you to King Asgore, whom you will have to kill in order to escape the Barrier."

Frisk frowns. "Do I have to?"

Chorus hesitates before nodding. "I'm afraid so, that's the only way a human can get out."

"Okay!" Frisk believes them, and she decides if King Asgore is the guy who wants to eat her, she won't feel bad for killing him.

"Don't kill anyone else, though." Chorus says firmly. "Please. Your guide will keep you safe as long as you stay with her."

Frisk nods, pursing her lips with determination. "Thank you, Chorus."

"Thank you, Frisk." Chorus says. "Now, I have an evacuation to organize, so please be on your way. There's a tunnel in the basement which goes out to Snowdin. You'll meet your guide there." Chorus stands up and leaves, ducking their great big head to pass their seven sweeping horns under the lintel of the huge door. Frisk gets up after they leave and she finds a knapsack full of food and supplies, including a sheathed, ivory dagger inside.

She takes the dagger and attaches the sheath to her belt, gripping the hilt as she examines the keen edge of the blade. She somehow knows instinctively how to use it. Sheathing it again, she throws the knapsack over her shoulder and starts out of the room.

The stairwell down to the basement is easy enough to find, so she leaps down the stairs three at a time as she chomps on a cookie. The tunnel is dark, but there's an electric torch in her knapsack, which she now pulls out and flicks on. The purple stone walls are covered in vines, crumbling under the weight of the mountain.

She reaches an ornate door. It looks far too heavy to move, but she's not ready to give up, so she slams her shoulder against it and tries to budge it. The door gives surprisingly easily under her meager strength. It swings wide and she skips out as it keeps opening, a blue aura around its edges.

Frisk looks around for her guide and sees nobody. "Hello?" She asks the snowy forest. She doesn't particularly want to get her socks wet, since she's wearing sandals.

"Hello, Frisk." A reedy voice greets her from behind. She yelps and jumps, spinning midair with her dagger leaping into her hand. "Don't Be Alarmed, I'm Your Guide. Chara- Chorus Should Have Told You About Me."

Frisk whimpers at the scary monster. "Y-you're a z-zombie!" She shrieks.

The fleshless-zombie facepalms. "My Name Is _Lilith_, She/Her. I've Been Told I Resemble A Human Skeleton, Yes, But I'm NOT A _ZOMBIE_ AND- And To Call Me Such Is An Insult To My Family!!"

"How do you know my name??" Frisk demands, inching forward with the dagger ready in her hand.

Lilith takes a step back and leans against the stone wall. "Chorus Told Me You Arrived." She says. Something feels off about the way she answered without actually answering. But then Lilith holds up a clunky old cell-phone. "You Might Need One Of These." She says.

Frisk snatches it eagerly. She's never had a scroll before, since papa claimed he didn't want to spend the money on a useless device she would only ever use to talk to girls and play games with. For one thing, Frisk only likes boys and enbies. For another thing, she despises most games and would prefer to just draw. But a cell-phone is the next best thing to a scroll, even if it is ancient technology.

She gasps as the screen turns holographic, spreading out and up as the phone splits open in her hands like a clam. "Wow, hee hee, I thought this was dumb old tech!"

"It's Been Refurbished By Our Scientist." Lilith retorts stiffly. "Now Come Along, You Can Play With It As We Proceed."

Frisk grabs Lilith's gloved hand and swings it as Lilith leads her through the trees. She flips through the applications, and then sees there's an art program so she selects that and starts doodling. "Hey, what did Chorus mean when they said they had to get ready for an evacuation??" She wonders aloud.

"Don't Worry About It." Lilith replies. "It's All Part Of The Plan."

"Oh, okay." Frisk says. Tears trickle down her cheeks from the cold. Mama would scold her for crying, though, so she smiles to make up for it.

A soft pat on the top of her head makes her look up at Lilith in surprise. "I'm sorry." The skeleton monster says softly.

"Oh, you're not the one who killed mama." Frisk replies to reassure her. "I'm going to kill him later." She barely realized that her intent was to kill papa, but once she does, determination locks her will in place.

Lilith tenses. "Your Mother Died?" Frisk nods, still smiling. "Oh. My Mother Died, Too. A Long Time Ago."

"Was she killed by herself because papa hated her?" Frisk asks.

"N-no, I never had a father. Helvetica raised us by herself." Lilith says. "She died when I was only five."

"Oh." Frisk says, smile faltering. "Stupid moms, they should know better than to die on us."

"You can cry." Lilith says. "It's safer to cry out here where nobody can see you."

Frisk opens her mouth to speak and a sob bubbles out. Her shoulders shake as tears roll down her cheeks. "Why'd she leave me??" She wails. "She just- she just threw herself off a cliff, splat, heh, and then she's gone, not enough bandaids, not for all the blood!!"

Arms wrap tight around her. "I'm So Sorry." Lilith says, her voice raw as teardrops drip onto Frisk's forehead. "I didn't know."

Frisk buries her head into the soft silk of Lilith's red scarf. "It's not your fault."

"Nyeh heh-" Lilith chuckles miserably. "There's A Lot That's My Fault, Even If You Don't Remember It." Then she picks Frisk up. "But!! The Great And Lovely Lilith Doesn't Leave Things Unfixed!! I Will Make Everything Better!! Starting With This: I Won't Abandon You!!"

"Really?" Frisk giggles at the silly skeleton.

"Really Really." Lilith replies firmly, swinging Frisk out of the snow and up onto her shoulders.

Frisk leans down over Lilith's head and grins. "Really really really??"

"Honestly And Truly!!" Lilith crows. "Now We Shall Go Forth!!"

Lilith breaks into a loping run, crossing nearly seven meters with each step. Frisk hangs on for dear life, her whoops echoing through the cliffs.

* * *

"NGAAAAHHH!!" Undyne's battle cry echoes through the tunnels of Waterfall as her enemies falter before her and her allies surge forward behind her with renewed vigor. The battles of the rebels against the Royal Guard have been taxing, but the rebels have been gaining ground fast.

Later, after a cease-fire has been called for the night, one of her lieutenants comes forward, dragging MK by the nape of the neck. "Sir, I found this kid sneaking into our camp."

"Let him go." Undyne waves a careless hand. "So, MK, you wanna fight, huh?"

"Yo, I can totally pound those guards!!" MK crows, lashing his tail and punching the air with his robotic hands.

Undyne bares her teeth in a vicious grin. "Fuhuhu, face me then, punk. If you can land a hit on me, you can join the freaking rebellion."

"Undyne, sir, that's not our name-" The lieutenant meekly tries to correct.

"Shut up." She snaps. "I'll call it what I want, and I refuse to call it the _Grape Democracy_. It's a freaking rebellion is what it is!!"

"Yo!!" MK squeals and hops up and down. "I get to fight Undyne!!"

"Come at me, squirt." Undyne grins, sitting down on a boulder.

MK shouts, "Yaarrr!!" and forms a freaking morning star. Undyne guffaws as the squirt charges, then rolls to the side as he slams the morning star down. She draws a spear and strikes out at the kid, who left himself wide open after the strike.

He forms a scimitar and fends off the spear, controlling the sabre with blue magic, then he lifts the morning star again and swipes it at Undyne's knees.

Undyne leaps and throws the spear, but this leaves her open for the scimitar to smack against her gut. She twists, narrowly avoiding it. MK dodges the spear, drops the morning star, and grabs his scimitar as Undyne guffaws and draws her great-sword. She slashes the great-sword down. MK ducks and deflects with his scimitar. The morning star taps against her back.

The kid's freaking sneaky. It reminds Undyne of Lilith's tactics all too much, but not all of that can be accounted to Lilith's training. "Fuhuhu!! Alright, squirt, you're now an honorary member of the freaking rebellion!! I dub you Mil-Gwedh the water-bearer. Go get me a cup of water."

MK stares at her, drooping in disbelief. "But you said I could fight!"

"I said you could join the freaking rebellion, and I let you join!!" Undyne scowls. "Are you arguing with your commanding officer, soldier??"

"N-no, sir!!" MK trots off to find the cups. Undyne pats herself on the back.

Her phone buzzes and so she picks it up and answers, "Ross better not be having candy again, birb, or I'll freaking slice your throat."

"Ross is good, Dyno!" The rebellion's scientist and temporary babysitter squawks back. "Tonton reported that the deal with Bug-queen went well!"

"No eating the spiders, you hear??" Undyne growls.

"Yes, yes!! I won't eat your precious tasty bugs, trust me!!"

"Good. Call me back when it's Ross's bed time." Undyne hangs up with a sigh.

Snowdin and the Ruins have been secured. Waterfall is almost won over. Hotland will be secured as soon as Grillby can ferry over the evacuated spiders from the Ruins. And reinforcements from the Ruins should be coming soon as well, behind Lilith and Frisk.

Speaking of Lilith, the woman lopes into the camp and stops at Undyne's boulder, kneeling grandly to let Frisk hop off her shoulders. "Nyeh Heh Heh, How Goes The War?"

"Ngahh, it's freaking epic!! I've always wanted to lead a freaking rebellion against King Fuzzball!!" Undyne laughs.

"I thought his name was Asgore." Frisk says, staring at Undyne with wide golden eyes. 

"Well, yeah, but we call him Fuzzball because he only has _one_ and it's all fuzzy." Undyne guffaws.

Lilith shrieks in outrage, "NO, I TOLD YOU, TORIEL CALLED HIM THAT TO MAKE HIM SOUND HARMLESS AND CUTE, NOT AFTER SOMETHING SO _LEWD_!!"

Undyne shrugs, smirking. "I don't see Chorus here! Do you see them here?? No! So shut up!!" "Y-YOU SHUT UP!!" Lilith cries. Frisk giggles, a creepily wide smile on her face.

"Alright, squirt, we need to get you safely to the King so we can take all the souls and break the Barrier!!" Undyne says. "Not sure how we're gonna break it with only six souls, but hey, Bracken has a plan, and that's more than Fuzzball's ever given us, so what the freaking heck, let's do this!!"

"Y-Yeah!!" Lilith agrees with only the barest hint of hesitation. It's been more than two years since she came out as transgender, and Sans hasn't come around to seeing sense yet. The two had a raging fight a few months ago, and Sans packed up and moved to Asgore's palace to throw himself into his new job as the king's chief of war.

Undyne claps Lilith on the back. "It's all gonna be fine, punk!!" She laughs.

"Nyeh heh, wonderful!!" Lilith cackles, but there's still a hint of misery behind her facade of cheer. A beat of heat hits Undyne's soul at the thought that she wants to destroy whoever makes Lilith so hopeless. Undyne dries the damp trail over Lilith's cheekbone with her thumb. Lilith looks away, but her skull tinges pink.

MK wanders over to Frisk and starts badgering her with questions and regaling her with the account of his fight with Undyne, who chuckles as she sees the two teens hit it off. "Hey, squirt, you're supposed to be getting water!!" She shouts.

"Y-yes, Undyne, sir!!" MK cries.

"I'll help you!" Frisk says and follows MK off to the river.

"Undyne," Lilith says. "I'm worried about Sans."

"Fuhu, we won't kill him, punk." Undyne reassures.

"I know, but he could try to stop us. He won't succeed, but he might get hurt."

"Then don't let him." Undyne says. "You take care of Sans, since you know best how to fight him without hurting him. And I'll take care of Frisk." A cheer goes up in the distant back of the camp. Undyne grins. "Sounds like reinforcements are here!!"

* * *

The silence of Judgement Hall gnaws at Sans's bones. He forces himself to stay outwardly relaxed, despite the tension buzzing in his bones as he waits.

The sharp click-click of heeled boots enters the hall. Sans opens one socket to pin Papyrus with a glare. "heya. you've, uh, been busy, huh."

"Busier Than You, I See." Papyrus retorts, crossing his arms and stopping three meters before Sans. "Out Of My Way."

"nah." Sans says. He knows Papyrus would never physically hurt him. But the younger's cutting words still twist in his soul.

The argument a couple months ago had been their worst one ever, at least as far as Sans can remember. His recollections of the previous timeline are blurry at best, so it's easier to pretend he doesn't remember it at all. "Please, Sans." Papyrus says.

"wow, the great and powerful papyrus says _please_." Sans drawls.

"I've Changed. Maybe You Should Try To Do The Same." Papyrus snaps.

"changed, sure, but ya ain't better for it." Sans says. He misses his brother, the one he had before the reset suddenly altered him a couple years ago.

His brother was tough as nails, never took shit from anybody, andwas innocent as a snowflake. This imposter is- more mature. Added to that, he's irreverently wearing traditionally feminine clothes and even demands to be referred to by a different name and feminine pronouns. Sure, transgender dreemurrs are common enough and it's not taboo or anything, but this is Sans's _brother_. Sans gets a furious headache every time he accidentally thinks of his marrow-brother as a _girl_.

"c'mon, bro." Sans says. "what would mom say."

"KEEP HER OUT OF THIS, SANS!!" Papyrus cries. "I'M GOING TO FACE KING ASGORE AND I'M GOING TO WIN."

"dressed like _that_??"

Papyrus scowls. "Insufferable!!"

"ungrateful brat." Sans retorts. "i practically raised you. i kept you safe and healthy. and this is the thanks i get?? my bro playin' dress-up and tryna throw our home into chaos??"

"SANS, EITHER HELP ME OR GET OUT OF MY WAY! WE BOTH KNOW YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FIGHT ME."

"do we?" Sans lazily winks. He'd rather not fight Papyrus. But a humiliating thrashing could go a long way towards regaining his brother's respect.

Papyrus doesn't even flinch at the prospect of facing her- his older and more experienced brother. "I Have An Army On My Side. Asgore Doesn't Stand A Chance Against Us Even If You Defeat Me." He smirks. "You Can't Thrash _All_ Of Us, You Know."

Sans sighs, shaking his head. "welp. you leave me no choice."

"You Can't Stop Me." Papyrus says, determination in her- _his_ voice and stance.

Sans can sense his brother's intent as it fills the atmosphere. He raises his hand, causing Papyrus's soul to turn blue. "i didn't want to do this, bro, but yer asking for it." The blue magic holds Papyrus down, making it impossible for the younger to move and hard to even stand straight. Sans lazily walks up to Papyrus. "ok, we can do this the easy way or the har-agh!" He yelps and freezes as Papyrus yanks Sans into his arms and stabs him with a cyan attack. "bro- the fuck are you doing??"

Papyrus grins down at Sans, his arms an inescapable cage. "NOW!!" He shouts.

Undyne races out from behind a column, a human on her shoulders. Sans can't struggle due to the cyan bone in his soul, and he can't form magic, either, with his hands restrained under Papyrus's shoulders. "bro, that's a human, let go!!"

This is all wrong. The human has to be the anomaly and, according to his vague memories, the human faced him alone in Judgement Hall before somehow breaking the Barrier. This is all Bracken and Papyrus's faults for making so many changes to the timeline. Now there's no integrity to the time loop, and it could all fall apart with one more reset.

"NYEH HEH HEH, YOU CAN THRASH ME FOR THIS ALL YOU LIKE, SANS, BUT IT WON'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT I WON THE WAR!!" Papyrus crows, not letting go even as he dissipates the cyan bone.

Sans yanks out Papyrus's soul to inflict some well-deserved pain on the younger brother with an attack or two. Paps is tough, he can take it. But Sans falters when he sees the state of the soul.

It's not white. It's mostly golden, but there's a brownish-red tar-like mass splitting through the point at the top, tendrils wriggling like worms through the soul. "bro." Sans growls. Papyrus flinches as the darkness expands. "what the fuck have you done to your soul??"

"N-Nyeh Heh- You Recall That I'm A Time Traveler, Right?"

"yeah."

"I Only Remember The Past Timeline Because I Took A Soul-Altering Dose Of DT." Papyrus admits, guilt heavy in his sheepish voice. "It- It's Been Slowly Corrupting My Soul."

"you never told me." Sans says, furious that his bro hid this from him.

"Why Should I??" Papyrus retorts. "You Won't Accept Me. It W-Wouldn't Have Helped _Anything_."

"bro-" Sans starts angrily, but Papyrus flinches again, biting back a yelp as the darkness slices deeper into his soul. Guilt gnaws at Sans's bones, but he ignores it. "ya need to get that healed."

"I Can't Find A Healer Strong Enough." Papyrus says. "And Negative Feelings-- Like Wrath, Fear, Or Hurt-- Make It Corrupt Faster."

"look, bro-" Sans stops as he sees the exact moment Papyrus winces and the tar wriggles deeper, and he puts two and two together. "oh." He says, guilt weighing him down. Two whole years; all that time he'd been hurting his own sibling. It's a wonder the younger didn't snap sooner. "i, uh. damn, i really haven't been helping, huh."

"N-No, You Haven't Been."

"i've been making it worse, haven't i." Sans mumbles, staring at the tar marring his sibling's soul. "and you've always been great and amazing and powerful, huh. whether you're a girl or a boy. i've been a dumbass."

"Y-Yes, You Have Been." He- she grits out.

"okay. no more. i ain't gonna complain about you bein' a girl any longer."

"R-Really?!" Papyrus- uh, Lilith cries.

"really really." Sans pats her back, then steps away. Pap- Lilith releases him, wiping tears from hi- her sockets.

"I'm Sorry For Being So Harsh With You, Sans." She bawls. "I Love You, Brother!!"

Sans grins. "love ya, too, uh, sis." Maybe it's his imagination, but it looks like the tar shivers, retreating slightly away from the gold. "welp. sorry about this, but i've got a job to do." He says as he turns her soul blue and pins her to the ground. "see ya."

Papyrus- Lilith shrieks furiously at him as Sans shortcuts into the king's throne room. He knows Bracken claims to have a plan. But Sans doesn't trust the weed.

* * *

The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, so all in all it's a fine day for a cup of tea. Asgore sits on his throne and reads the reports of the rebellion sweeping through his nation, spearheaded by his former apprentice and almost-daughter Undyne. Many of the Royal Guards defected to the rebellion's side after realizing that the rebellion wasn't killing anyone. Apparently they call themselves the Grape Democracy. Asgore doesn't get the joke, but he's sure Toriel would.

He stands up upon hearing a rustling in the grass. But he trips over his feet, which are stuck in- webs?? He catches his fall with his hands, and hundreds of spiders work quickly to bind him to the ground. Asgore shrieks in terror.

"Ahuhu, dearie, you should be thankful, really." Queen Muffet stands over him, baring her fangs and winking her five eyes menacingly. "I wanted to kill you, but my associates preferred you alive. For now."

"What's the meaning of this??" Asgore cries, petrified by the little creepy spiders.

"Long live the Grape Democracy." Muffet intones, honey dripping from her voice as she pours a cup of spiders. "I was persuaded to join after the kind and handsome Sir Grillby and his compatriots assisted my people in their return to my kingdom, my people whom you abandoned in the Ruins."

Asgore struggles futilely and Muffet smirks down at him. "We have the last human, a cute girl named Frisk, with us." She says. "You will not kill her. You will take her to the Barrier hall and you will release the souls you already have."

"Wh-what, no, I won't liste-AGHH!!" Asgore howls as thousands of spiders crawl into his fur. "Okay, okay!!" He sobs, humiliated by the easy defeat.

"Very good, ahuhu." Muffet giggles, pressing one hand to her mandibles. "You will immediately regret any disobedience." The queen disappears back into the shadows.

Released from the webs, Asgore stands up cautiously. Undyne strides in with a human on her shoulders. "Un-Undyne," Asgore says, trying to keep his composure despite the spiders in his mane and against his skin.

"Let's go, Fuzzball." Undyne snaps. "Where are the souls??"

"I see." Asgore says solemnly. It's all a ploy to get more power. Muffet was probably promised one or two, maybe even three souls to get her on the rebels' side. "I suppose I must allow it." He sighs, hiding his secret pride in his people. If his people are clever enough to plan such a coup d'etat, they're certainly ready to destroy humanity. He'll have to convince them to keep him alive somehow so that he can see the destruction of humans himself.

He leads Undyne and the human back to the Barrier and raises the soul containers from the ground. "Six." He muses. "One more and all of humanity could be eliminated."

"We don't want to eliminate humans." Undyne snarls. "We want to coexist with them peacefully. We want to fly among the stars and meet new peoples and be known as the people who wrongfully suffered imprisonment but came out better for it!! Do you even know your own people, Fuzzball?? We're strong!! We have passion, in hatred _and_ in love!! We're freakin' loyal to those who deserve our loyalty, and we help each other and raise each other up when they fall down!!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't see your idealized version of monsterkind." Asgore says sadly, hiding his bitterness. "I certainly wish it were so."

"Fuhuhu, you don't see it because you never bothered to look!! You tried to whip it out of us!! But I saw it. Lilith saw it. All of us rebels, we saw it and we decided _no_, you don't get to decide our future for us." Undyne draws a spear. The human draws a dagger.

Asgore bows his head. "I see." He's not allowed to fight back. He's too scared of the spiders to fight back. So this is how he dies. At the hands of his apprentice who's helping a human. "My apologies, Undyne." He rumbles sorrowfully.

Sans appears between Undyne and Asgore. "wait, hold up, this is all wrong!" He cries.

Muffet steps out from the shadows. "Ahuhu, do not get in our way, little skeleton. Your sister would be heartbroken if something happened to you."

A huge boss monster with four arms and seven horns steps inside the hall. "Oh, I am late, apologies."

"Just in time, Chorus!!" Undyne crows.

Asgore stammers in confusion. "Who's that??" He cries.

"an aberration of the timeline, that's who." Sans growls. "guys, this is all wrong, this isn't the way it's supposed to happen!"

"I REALLY DON'T THINK THAT MATTERS ANYMORE, SANS!!" Sans's dumb brother sashays inside. "WE'RE ALL HERE, NOW, EXCEPT TONTON, BUT HE'S GETTING ROSS TO BLOOKY."

"He better!!" Undyne cries.

"What the hell is going on??" Asgore shouts, feeling like everyone knows what's going on except for him.

"Ahuhu, dearie," Muffet starts.

"HAHAHAHAHA!!" A smug laugh cuts her off, echoing behind Asgore as everyone is captured in vines. Asgore struggles, but the vines grasp him just tight enough to restrain him without hurting him or the spiders in his fur. "YOU _I D I O T_. DID YOU REALLY THINK YOUR PEOPLE WOULD LET YOU LIVE AFTER EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE?? FRISK, TAKE HIS SOUL AND LEAVE."

"No!!" Asgore cries, "Don't kill me, I have so many things I want to do!!"

"YOU THINK I CARE." The smug grating voice says. "HAHA, WHAT A JOKE YOU ARE, _DAD_. MOM IS ALREADY DEAD. NOW IT'S YOUR TURN."

The vines tighten around him, thorns piercing through his flesh and drawing golden ichor. The spiders flee from his fur. Asgore bellows and blasts the vines with fire. They drop him and he lands on the ground.

A sharp pain enters his chest. "Hehe, Undyne told me about you." The human giggles, their dagger driven deep into his breast. "You're like papa. So this is like practice for killing him!!"

Asgore tries to say something, but words fail him as he shatters. His soul is all that's left, and it's absorbed by the human's- wait, they don't even have a complete soul! They only have half! Asgore would laugh if he could, but he can't. His people are trapped still.

His last conscious thought goes to Toriel, missing his queen. If she'd stayed by his side, none of this would have happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler comment below by Norasilotak ;p


	30. Innocence Yours To Consume

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Also the chapter titles from last chapter to the end are from "Monster" by Starset

Frisk screams as her bone structure begins to shift. Chorus tuts in sympathy and grabs the transforming human's arm to drag her out of the Barrier as Bracken begins to absorb all the souls in the Underground. "Help!!" Frisk howls, clawing at the tawny fur that bursts from her arms. "I'm eaten!!"

"No, you're not!!" Chorus retorts, yanking her through the Barrier. "You are just- fine-" They trail off as they reach the edge of the cliff. A forest stretches out below them, and past that a wide bay reflects the twin moons. A fortress city sits above the bay, high in the mountains bordering the sea. Overhead, the huge nanite-built dome shimmers against the stars. "Woah."

Chorus drops Frisk's arm as she stops being human and becomes sidhe. The newborn sidhe screams and claws at herself, terror in her three golden eyes. "H-help me-" She begs weakly, then throws a tantrum on the cliff's edge, wailing, "Stop, make it stop!! I'm eaten!!" 

"Calm down!!" Chorus grabs one of Frisk's hands and struggles to twist her thick arm behind her back. "Hey, you're fine!!"

"No, I'm not!!" Frisk howls, ramming Chorus with her broad antlers. "Get it out of me!!"

Chorus growls under their breath, annoyed. "Fine. Here." They yank the sidhe's souls from her body. Chara should be strong enough to handle both sedryn souls, so Chorus separates Asgore's soul from Frisk's and absorbs him.

Frisk shrieks as the transformation reverses. And then she lays limply on the outcrop and stares up at the stars, giggling hysterically. "Meanie."

"Brat." Chorus retorts as their spine itches and six bat-like wings sprout from their back. Two prehensile tails lash and curl behind themself. They ponder for a moment, then decide Asgore's addition isn't worth changing their name again.

The mountain rumbles and light flares from the cave. Chorus grabs Frisk before the human can roll off the cliff. "It seems they're done."

"With what?" Frisk asks.

"Breaking the Barrier." Chorus replies, walking back into the cave with Frisk carried under their two left arms.

Bracken greets Chorus as they enter the torchlit grassy room. "Gee, Chorus, I thought I was pretty specific."

"She was freaking out." Chorus replies, protective of Frisk.

"She'll have to try again. We can't have a human with us this time, it caused tons of trouble last time."

"She might not want to stay with us." Chorus retorts. "Besides, there's the coffins-"

"I told Lil to throw those in Hotland's magma." Bracken waves the concern off. Chorus scowls at him. "Look, friend, I'm trying to be a good leader here." He grins. "And as your charming leader, I say Frisk has to try again."

"Why??" Frisk demands. Bracken looks startled, like he didn't expect to be challenged by the human. Of course he did, though. Everything is an act with him. Chorus can't trust a single nice-seeming word or deed from him.

"Because, you idiot, I need you to look like you belong with us. I can't have them accusing us of brainwashing humans again."

Frisk pouts. "But it hurts."

"Only for a few weeks, then you'll get used to having a second soul." Bracken says dismissively. "Golly, Frisk, don't you want power? Just think, with Asgore's soul you could breathe fire and- and maybe even get more cool daggers, hahaha, wouldn't that be nice?"

Chorus sighs. "Give her time, Bracken, she doesn't have to do it right away."

"Gee, fine, fine. But Frisk, we'd all love you if you were one of us. You could be our family, and we wouldn't abandon you like your dumb mom."

Chorus rolls their eyes at his obvious manipulation. Frisk squirms in their arms, trying to make them let her down. "Fight me!!" The puny human cries.

Bracken smirks. "Fight you, huh? Loser does whatever the winner wants."

"Young man, you are going too far." Chorus snaps, wielding their combined age and wisdom as authority. "Allow her to have autonomy."

"I am," Bracken claims. "She said she wants to fight me. And you're the one carrying her like she's a baby."

"Let me down!!" Frisk elbows Chorus's side and twists free, then snatches her dagger from her sheathe and charges at Bracken.

"Golly, so eager." Bracken purrs, sidestepping her. "You agree to the terms?"

"Yeah, so fight me!" Frisk cries.

Bracken grins as he draws a falchion. "Hahaha, you idiot." He crows, lashing out with it.

Frisk ducks the falchion and stabs him in the gut. Bracken shrieks with pain and rage. Shocked, Chorus can only laugh. "I don't like you _berry_ much." Frisk giggles, then withdraws the dagger, leaving Bracken to fall to his knees, ichor dripping from his wound.

"H-how-??" He cries.

"Dunno." Frisk shrugs. "I just like daggers. Now you have to do something I say!! And I say- hmm. I wanna go to space and never see papa again!! So, as my new family, you're going to come with me. Cause family doesn't abandon each other, after all." Frisk smirks and caresses Bracken's cheek.

Still stunned, Bracken nods. "G-golly, Frisk, you're really something." He sighs, bleeding out.

Chorus scoffs under their breath. Chara's jealous that they can't just rid themself of the two sedryn souls and then claim Bracken with a kiss. They growl, "Here, you dumbass." And they kneel to heal him instead. He throws his head back with a keen of pain as the green fire burns into the wound. "Oh, shut up, you big baby."

"Gee, Chorus, someone's jealous." He hisses back.

Chorus gives him an unamused look. "You died for me- for Chara once. I'm not letting you die again."

A victorious look comes across his face. "Will you kill for me?"

"If I have to." Chara purrs, ignoring the two sedryn souls' feelings of disgust and horror as they realize the implications of being bound to Chara as Chorus in one body. Toriel makes a valiant attempt to gain control, but Chara has been manipulating Frisk for _decades_ and easily subdues their former mother.

_How dare you, my child!_ Toriel's soul cries desperately. _Don't make us do this wicked thing!_

Chorus lets out a huff and stands up, grabbing Bracken's hand to lift him to his feet. "But there _has_ to be a better solution than me carrying your parents around all the time."

"Golly, Chorus, don't tell me you're sick of them already." Bracken smirks. "No fear, dearest Chara, you won't have to bear it for long."

"How long." Chorus grumbles.

"Only until we can get integrated into society. Which is why Frisk needs to keep one too, so she doesn't look human." Bracken says this with a glower at the human, who smiles innocently and pets her dagger.

"If she stays."

"She's staying." Bracken says. "Right, Frisk?"

"Yeah!" Frisk cries, slashing the air with her dagger excitedly. "I'll stay with you!"

"Right. I need you to take Asgore's soul." Bracken says, and Frisk pouts at that. "It's temporary." Bracken adds.

"Fine." Frisk says. "But I wanna go to space and I don't wanna do it as a freak."

"Ow, my heart!" Bracken cries, staggering back. "Are you calling me a freak, Frisk??"

"Yup!" Frisk replies cheerfully. "But you're not as freaky as Chorus."

Chorus growls, not as dismissive as Bracken. "You listen here, human-" They snap, but Bracken stops them with an upraised hand.

"Deal. Take Asgore's soul."

Frisk nods and goes up to Chorus, who takes out their souls and passes Asgore's to her. Frisk takes it and grabs one of Chorus's hands as she transforms.

Fully morphed, Frisk clasps her claws over her tawny-furred chest and bares her fangs, glaring with her three golden eyes at Bracken. "There, you dummy, I did it."

Bracken draws a tunic from his inventory and throws it at her. She slings it over herself and ties it securely. Chorus cocks their head at her. "What's your name?"

"Frisk." She says. "I'm not changing my name just cause some dumb king wants to share. I'm not sharing."

Chorus shrugs. "Okay, but it might hurt more if you keep rejecting a modicum of compromise."

"I hate compromising with bullies, hehe!"

Bracken yawns and stretches. "Welp, looks like everyone's waking up now. I'm pooped. Go wander the Underground or something, I've got an election to win."

"Brat." Chorus snaps fondly. "Nobody's going to vote for you."

"Golly, y'all of little faith." Bracken says. "I'm going to _crush_ Undyne and Muffet." Undyne, who just woke up, glowers groggily.

"I think Tonton's running too," Chorus adds.

"Gee, he's not a challenge." Bracken waves it off. "I _broke the Barrier_. That has to count for at least a million-billion brownie points."

Chorus raises an eyebrow. Frisk has already skipped off to explore or whatever, and the sedryn who were asleep now start to rouse and stumble to their feet in confusion.

"Ahuhu, I hope all my subjects are intact, or you will have eternity to pay." Muffet snickers as she rises.

Chorus smirks at Bracken, who waves a dismissive hand. "Everyone is fine."

"hey, where's papyrus- uh, lilith?" Sans corrects himself before anyone has the chance to glare at him.

"RIGHT HERE, DEAR BROTHER!" Lilith leaps back into the grassy room before Chorus can investigate Sans's change of heart. Sans shortcuts to her to give her a hug, but she blocks his advance with an arm and turns away. "I'M STILL MAD AT YOU!!"

"oh. oh yeah." Sans says sheepishly.

Undyne leaps up and noogies Lilith. "Fuhuhu, punk, we did it!! We broke the barrier!!"

"Ahem." Bracken clears his throat. Nobody listens to him. Chorus chuckles to themself, but Bracken hears and shoots a glare at them. "AHEM!!"

"what's the weed want??" Sans growls. Lilith places a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Golly, I just want to assign duties as the temporary regent." Bracken says with _truly_ _astonishing_ patience. Sarcasm aside, Chorus approves of the former prince taking charge. He's probably the best suited for the task, besides maybe Muffet. Or even Tonton, Chorus likes Tonton.

"okay, that's my cue to go take a nap." Sans starts to swing his foot around to walk away into another shortcut, but Lilith stops him.

"Not On My Watch, Lazybones!!" She cries. "Listen To Our Acting Regent!!"

"Thank you, Lil." Bracken says with another of his signature smirks. "Sans, you go take a nap and stay out of Lilith's way."

Chorus hides a chuckle as Sans bristles at that. Then he relaxes and shrugs. "i can't argue with that." He disappears.

"Lilith, you're our ambassador. Take a team and survey the Surface, make friends, whatever you need to." Bracken orders. "Undyne, get everyone ready for evacuation. Muffet, just worry about your own people, it'll make it easier for me to win the presidency. And tell Tonton to air his PSAs now."

"Hai!" Undyne cries and backflips over Lilith.

"UNDYNE, WE'RE NOT IN AN ANIME!!" Lilith cries, seeming as distraught as though it were the millionth time she's had to specify that. Muffet chitters to her spiders and vanishes in the shadows.

"And Chorus," Bracken turns to them with a grin, "You keep an eye on Frisk and make sure she doesn't fall into magma."

"What She Needs Is A Therapist." Lilith says, frowning.

"Yeah, yeah, she can get one after we've acclimated." Bracken says. "Oh, and Lilith."

"Yes?"

Bracken gives her a sharp grin. "Don't expect me to play nice like Frisk did and reset any time you need an easy fix."

Lilith winces. "I understand."

"Good girl." Bracken says. Chorus wonders briefly why they all put up with his manipulation and condescension. Maybe because, despite all his slippery charisma and sometimes heavy-handed influencing, he really does try to help those he considers friends.

* * *

The Governor, a woman named Park Haneul, stands on the stage outside, greeting the crowd of senators. Behind the curtain, Lilith takes a deep breath and rubs a bit of bone polish on her cheekbones, then pats some cyan glitter under her sockets. Her scarf, a constant companion through everything, rests on her shoulders.

It's been two months since Bracken broke the Barrier. To nobody's surprise but Bracken's, Tonton won the popular vote and became the president of the Grape Democracy. Everyone wants to keep that name, for better or worse. Lilith has kept the position of ambassador, even though Sans was the one who trained for ambassadorial stuff back in the other timeline. Now, Sans has been taking care of all the red tape and bureaucratic nonsense.

Governor Haneul calls Lilith onto the stage. Lilith hops up and grins at the silent sea of aghast humans. "Hello!" She greets. Nobody answers. So she gives her speech in the taut quiet, asking for a grant of land to build homes on.

Haneul stops her ten minutes before her time is up. Lilith hides her scowl behind a smile as she makes a polite bow to the senators. Anger worms into her soul, stinging in the dark corruption. She spins and strides backstage. The anger boils in her bones, painful and nearly uncontrollable. Lilith draws out her soul and bites her fingers to restrain a pained cry. The tarry mass has crept over half of the golden magic. She tries to heal herself again, but the green fire just makes it hurt worse. Soft footsteps startle her and she returns her soul before turning around with a smile ready on her jaws. "Hello?"

"Hey." It's hard to see the source of the voice as they blend with the shadows. "Don't trust anyone."

"What??" Lilith snaps, confused by the cryptic remark.

"The Governor. The senators. Don't trust them." The voice says, dark and cynical.

"Why should I believe you?" Lilith demands.

"Right, don't trust me either, asshole." They reply.

Lilith flinches slightly at the reminder of her friend Ryuk. "Nyeh, I Would Appreciate Information."

"Did you _earn_ it?" The shadow replies coldly. "Or do you expect to be coddled."

"What do you want?" Lilith growls.

"Peace." They say with a bitter note to their voice. "But if you mean to ask how you can earn more information, then you can start by sending donations to the East District. There's a large community of homeless sedryn there. And the only reason these senators listen to you is because you have all that gold. So you could petition for them to be given the rights to have jobs and own property, too."

"I'll Do It." Lilith promises, driven by the realization that there's more sedryn than just the Grape Democracy who are suffering under the humans.

"I know you plan to, asshole." The shadow says. "But I'm not giving you more information until you do."

"Who are you?" Lilith blurts before the shadow can leave.

"Heh." They chuckle grimly. "I'll visit you again when you've met my terms. Maybe I'll tell you then."

"Thank you." Lilith says.

"Don't thank me." The voice hardens. "I know what you've done. And the only reason I'm doing this is because you're responsible for innocents."

Lilith splutters as her sins crawl on her back and she wonders if this person somehow knows about the six dead humans. She represses the part of herself deep down whispering that they could be Ryuk. There's no way. She's terrified to meet them again. She's terrified they'll remember. Ryuk is most likely dead now, and it's her fault. Her nightmares blame her for their death every time she falls asleep. She finally manages to say, "I understand."

"I don't think you do." The voice says, cold with bitterness. "We'll see."

"I Apologize If I've Wronged You." Lilith says cautiously.

"Heh." They laugh. "I don't want your apologies, asshole. I want you to _fix it_."

"I Will." Lilith says, thinking of Ryuk as she says it. Pain stabs her soul as the corruption wriggles in deeper with guilt.

"Thanks, bitch." They say quietly, their voice slightly choked, and without the harsh coldness they sound almost exactly like her dead friend. A visceral shudder rattles Lilith's bones. Their footsteps pad softly away, saving her from being confronted by her mistakes.

Sans appears a few minutes later and Lilith hugs him tightly, holding onto all the good this reset has wrought and trying in vain to ignore the pain she caused in the previous timeline.

* * *

"Hey, Ross, honey, don't get into the cheese without mama!!" Undyne shouts back into the kitchen, then turns back to Lilith and Tonton. "Sorry, Tonton, what was that?"

"When is his birthday, darling." Tonton repeats.

"Fuhuhu, heck if I know." Undyne says, then shouts to the kitchen again, "Hey, Ross!! What's your birthday??"

"Dunno!" Ross cries back, muffled by a full mouth of what better not be cheese.

"Well, I found him on my doorstep." Undyne says. "And he insists on calling me mama because apparently, according to Lilith, he remembers some past future timeline where I was married to this chick who died and now doesn't exist anymore thanks to space-nonsense." She shrugs. "So his birthday might as well be today, I guess. Hey, Ross!! Can we have your birthday today??"

"Sure, mama!" Ross shouts back.

"Oh yeah, have I told you about my jogging buddy??" Undyne cries.

"No??" Lilith retorts. "Who?"

"Fuhuhu, you've been busy." Undyne says. Tonton excuses himself to check on Cuina and make sure the bird-like creature isn't creating some machinery-abomination to make a smoothie again. "I met this cute sedryn at the gym!! They were being cryptic and stuff, so I beat them up, fuhu, but they fought pretty well, so I invited them on our morning jogs, which _you_ haven't been coming to!!"

"Oh." Lilith says, seeming distracted by a mote of dust. "Yes, Busy."

Undyne huffs, fondness for her friend curling in her soul. A couple years ago she would have scoffed at the weakness. But now it doesn't feel so unnatural. "Punk, you're coming on today's jog!!!"

"But Undyne, You Already Had It!!" Lilith protests.

Undyne flaps a hand dismissively. "Eh, everyone's getting ready for Ross's birthday, we can leave the house for a bit. Lemme text Ryuk." Ross will love having another birthday. He just learned how to turn invisible, so he's been getting into all sorts of trouble. But Undyne usually pawns him off on Cuina and Tonton when he's in one of his particularly troublesome moods.

Lilith chokes and splutters at the name, flushing red. "I- I'M NOT GOING!!" She cries, so obviously and adorably flustered.

"Yeah, you are, punk." Undyne decides, pulling out her scroll and shooting a text to her newest friend. "Don't worry, Ryuk's a cool dude."

"I KNOW THAT, I'M AFRAID-" Lilith stops, looking sheepish. "I'm Afraid Of What They Think Of Me."

"Fuhuhu, is this more time nonsense?" Undyne laughs. "Don't worry, they don't bite much. But I can't believe you knew a dragon and never told me!!"

"What?? A Dragon?? That Can't Be Them." Lilith says, sounding both disappointed and relieved. "My friend was an adani."

Undyne rolls her eye. "MK's coming too." She says with a glance back at her scroll. "He wants to meet my epic dragon friend."

"Fine." Lilith grumbles. Undyne frowns at the scowl on Lilith's skull, and she fixes it with a quick peck on Lilith's cheekbone, turning the ivory bone red. "UN-UNDYNE!!" Lilith flusters again.

Lilith has epic passion and adorable mannerisms. Added to that, Ross has finally come around to liking her. "We're dating now, punk." Undyne decides.

"WH-WHAT??"

"You heard me, fuhuhu!!"

"BUT UNDYNE, I CAN'T DATE!!" Lilith wails.

"Sure you can." Undyne says cheerfully. "Just talk about your feelings and shi- stuff."

"Undyne, I Really Fucked Everything Up." Lilith admits in a quiet intense voice. Undyne glowers at the language, but lets it go since at least Lilith isn't loudly projecting her voice at the time. "The Last Time I Dated, I-" MK slams open the door and Lilith cuts herself off.

"Yo." MK greets Undyne with his gang sign. Undyne glowers at him. "Hey, Lilith, thanks for the advice. The Dandy Lions are now the most epic, yo!!"

Undyne rolls her eye fondly. "MK, you better not be getting into trouble, punk!!"

"Yo, what do I look like, a fu-_reaking_," He censors himself at Undyne's sharp glare, "honor guard??"

"C'mon, punks, Ryuk's waiting for us!" Undyne ignores MK's sass and grabs both her friends to drag them out the door and onto the sidewalk. She starts jogging. Lilith huffs, but jogs beside her, and MK takes the lead.

Half a mile into the five-mile jog, Undyne looks up and sees a black dot in the sky. "Fuhuhu, there they are!" She waves to Ryuk.

The dragon dives out of the sky. They're puny for a dragon, only about Undyne's height when standing on their hind legs, and they can't breathe fire, which is disappointing. Undyne hollers, "Catch me, squirt!!"

Lilith stands back from Undyne. MK has gone on ahead, not noticing Ryuk in the sky. Ryuk's dark wings flare wide, catching the wind from their fall, and their fanned tail whips about to balance themself. Their claws stretch out as their eyes lock onto their target. Undyne lowers her arms with a guffaw as she realizes she's not their quarry. "Better watch out, Lil!!"

"What??" Lilith says, and then she yelps as the dragon crashes into her, pinning her to the ground. Ryuk snarls wordlessly at Lilith, then gets off and haughtily ignores her as she gets up and dusts herself off.

"Hey, squirt!" Undyne cries.

"Hey, Undyne." Ryuk replies quietly, shooting a glare at Lilith. Undyne raps their muzzle with her knuckles and they look down bashfully. "Why'd you bring _her_." They growl.

"R-Ryuk-?" Lilith ventures cautiously.

"Yooooo!!!" MK cries, running back to the group. "You're a fucking dragon!!"

"Yup!" Ryuk preens their shiny scales and keeps ignoring Lilith, who accepts the shunning with heavy guilt seeming to weigh her down.

"Okay, what the heck is going on??" Undyne demands. "What's your problem with my friend??"

Ryuk's muzzle wrinkles bitterly. "Ask her." They growl.

"Ryuk, I'm sorry!" Lilith cries. "How are you a dragon?? I- I thought you were dead!!"

"I almost was!!" They snap. "I've been all alone trying to survive on the streets for two and a half years after mom died!! So _thanks_, bitch, your reset made everything _so_ _much_ _better_!! I hope it was fucking worth it."

"Alphys didn't come back." Lilith admits in a small voice. "I remember everything. You- _you_ remember everything."

"It's not better, is it." Ryuk snarls. "It's just different and _nobody else _recalls that you erased _everything_ we worked so hard for."

Undyne is lost, but she can tell this has something to do with the time nonsense. "Hey, MK, let's let them talk." She says to the discomfited teen.

"No need." Ryuk says harshly. "I'm done talking to her."

"No, you're not, squirt." Undyne retorts. "You two are talking and you're both apologizing and making up."

"I have nothing to apologize for!!" Ryuk cries. "This bitch _used_ me!!"

Lilith breaks down into miserable sobbing. "I'M SORRY, I WAS A TERRIBLE FRIEND, AND I TOOK ADVANTAGE OF YOU, AND YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE PISSED AT ME!!" She cries.

Ryuk glares at her. "I know." Then they start loping away, barreling into MK, who catches onto their wings and shrieks with joy as they give him a ride.

Undyne slaps Lilith's shoulder. "Punk, you mighta messed up, but you can fix this!"

"CAN I??" Lilith wails. "I D-Don't Know If They'll Ever Let Me!!"

Undyne doesn't know what to say, so she just throws Lilith over her shoulder and races after Ryuk and MK, shouting, "Wait up!!"

Ryuk disappears later without ever talking further to Lilith. Undyne makes a mental note to scold them later. She disapproves of all this grudge-holding and avoidance. It's better to fight the issues out.

* * *

Alone in your fortress in an alley, you curl up and try not to cry. Chandra, a small adani who was thrown out of his house for being a boy, curls up under your wing. "You okay?" He asks, wiping your hot tears off your muzzle with a piece of cloth.

"No." You say miserably. Seeing Lilith today brought back all your bitter wrath, but it also dredged up the little scraps and remnants of your shredded love. Your soul has been healing slowly, thanks to your friends in the homeless community in the East District. They're your family now. You long to bring them to the stars and show them the epicness of space, but everyone here is grounded. The adani Governor won't allow sedryn anything beyond basic criminal rights.

Lilith's donations have helped tremendously, and you can tell she's been swaying the Governor, and for that you're thankful. And you're even almost ready to forgive her. But your bitterness choked the forgiveness before it reached your tongue when you saw her. All your senses brought you back to the moment you were torn apart in the wormhole.

"What's wrong?" Chandra asks. A small amused huff crosses your teeth. "You can tell me."

You roll over and he sits on your ribs. "I don't think you should be my emotional support human." You tease him.

"You're my emotional support dragon." He replies. "It's what friends do. You can talk to me."

"I- I had this old friend." You mumble. "More like a lover, actually. She did something that really hurt me. I saw her again today. I- I kinda miss her." Tears trickle down your temples.

Chandra tickles you, making you yelp indignantly. "I think it's up to you whether you give her a second chance or not." He says.

A second chance, huh. You _want_ to, but it's easier said than done. "Thanks, Chandra." You rumble, then roll over and gently bat him with your wing as he tries to tickle you again.

Night comes and you sleep in a pile, surrounded by your friends. Maybe this reset isn't so bad. You're a _dragon_. You managed to kill mom. And, even though you're technically homeless and wanted by the authorities for mom's murder, you have new friends and you have the chance to connect with old friends such as Undyne and MK- and maybe even Lilith.

Yeah. This isn't so bad.

* * *

The Lagolassi system blinks on the holographic map, then disappears. One more down. Zest flares turquoise with excited glee as his Chief passes on his newest assignment, a promotion to Boss of his very own starship. He's still under his Chief, who commands the whole triad, but this assignment has been deemed low risk and only warrants one ship.

Two and a half years ago, the galaxy being invaded tried to save itself by turning back time, poor fools. The _Dai'zhe _Aggelos may have been scattered in space by the time jump, but numbers aren't necessary yet since their technology is so vastly superior in comparison to most lifeforms'. They've been steadily conquering the insignificant lifeforms to be used as resources in their war against the _Quasar_ Aggelos, who live hidden in the center of the galaxy.

Zest blinks to his new post commanding the battlecruiser _13M-0N_. He calls it _Lemon_ for short. His officers communicate with him through the mind-link. His assignment rests in the hologram in the middle of his room. His plasma flickers with turquoise and white. The Sol system doesn't stand a chance.


	31. Cut It Away And Fill Me With Hate

Undyne gives your muzzle a hard rap and you flinch back, rubbing your stinging nose with a paw. "Ow," You whine.

"Shut up, wimp." Undyne snarls. "I don't care what Lilith did, you two can't keep avoiding each other! Either talk it out or fight it out!!"

Shame trickles through the veneer of wrath still encrusting your soul. "I don't want to fight." You grumble. "But I don't want to talk to her, either." Because if you talk to her, you'll make a fool of yourself due to your agitated emotions and only drive her further away. You need a plan of attack, some way to naturally force yourself to admit you forgive her to her face.

Undyne grabs you by one horn and twists your head to the side. "Listen, wimp, Lilith's my best friend- more than that, she's my _girlfriend_, so I can tell she's real torn up about whatever happened."

The simple endearment stings with betrayal in your soul and eyes. "G-girlfriend-" You echo disbelievingly. Lilith really moved on that fast?? After what she did to you?? Well, yeah, it has been two- almost three years, but- but it still hurts.

"What, you gotta problem with that, punk??" Undyne growls, pinning you against the grassy ground. "You so self-righteous you think she doesn't deserve some happiness??"

"I- I- n-no-" You stammer, struggling to hold back stupid dumb tears. You should never have expected her to wait for your forgiveness and try again to make it work. You and she tried once and it wasn't healthy. End of story.

"That's _right_." Undyne says. "Punk, since you won't reconcile with her, then I'm going to let you have one _nice_ warning." She grins, baring all her teeth, and your body goes cold with dread. "Stay away from my family. That includes Lilith, MK, myself, _everyone_."

"Wh-what??" You cry, struggling against her strength as she holds you down. "No, wait, please, I'll talk to her!"

Undyne shakes her head. "You had your chance and you blew it on accusations and shit."

"She fucked me over!!" You shriek. "She acted like a bitch and she used me! Actions deserve consequences!"

Undyne stands up and lifts you by one horn. "Get the fuck off my lawn." She says coldly. "Before I give you the _not-so-nice_ version."

"I will if you let go!" You snarl back. She tosses you like you're a rag doll and you tumble into the street, then storm away haughtily, glad she can't see the tears streaming down your muzzle.

The stars twinkle overhead. You wish you could be back up there. A furious shout claws out of your lungs as you viciously attack the nearest tree with your fangs and talons, hot tears burning your scales. You're a dragon. You're a dragon and you love every second of this rightness, but you hate that you had to sacrifice so much in return.

"Ryuk-?" A reedy voice says with nervous and ashamed softness behind you.

You drop to the ground bashfully and don't meet Lilith's guilty worried gaze. "H-hey."

"Please talk to me." She begs. "Undyne had no right to say those things to you. Please- y-yell at me, scream, _something._"

"S-so- you and Undyne, huh." You say, trying to sound nonchalant, but your bitter resentment leaks through.

Lilith looks down, embarrassed. "Undyne decided she wanted to date me. I didn't think I'd- I'd ever have another chance- so I agreed. Nyeh Heh, it's not the best coping mechanism ever."

"You were wrong." You snap before you can stop yourself. Lilith looks back at you.

"I Was?"

"Look, I- I just want some damn _consequences_, alright?? I _want_ to forgive you, I want to give you another chance, but I- it just doesn't feel that easy, okay??"

Her bones rattle in a shudder, then she sighs. "If- If Receiving Consequences For My Abominable Behavior Would Allow Me To Get A Second Chance, I'll Take Whatever You Have In Mind."

"R-really?" You say, doubting she actually wants that.

"Yes!!" She cries. "N-Nobody Else Has Even Scolded Me! Besides Bracken, but he doesn't count, he doesn't care who I hurt. And I- I Want You Back!"

You blink back tears. "I missed you." You say, and it comes out sounding accusatory but you're not sure you mean it that way. "And- and you just _moved on_ without me, like you never even cared that you used me and _ruined everything_!!"

"I- I DIDN'T _WANT_ TO RUIN IT, IT WAS JUST- I EITHER HAD TO LET THE RESET HAPPEN AND ENJOY WHAT LITTLE TIME WE HAD LEFT, OR GIVE UP ON MY DEAD STARMAS!!" She cries defensively, negating her earlier apologies. She clearly doesn't regret her actions.

"So you _deceived me_?? Alphys never came back, your _reset_ didn't fix anything!!" You snarl back. "There was another choice!"

"_WHAT_ CHOICE??"

"We could have stayed there! Made a life for ourselves in Andromeda! But thanks to _you_-" You trail off into bitter grumbling.

She stares at you. "Undyne Was Right." She says and her voice sounds arrogant and cold. "You Don't Want To Resolve Anything, You Just Want To Lash Out And Accomplish Nothing."

"I want my life back, asshole!!" You shriek.

"I CAN'T GIVE YOU THAT!!" She snaps, then covers her sockets with a gloved hand and groans. "You're Stuck In The Past, Ryuk. I Don't Blame You, But I'm Not Going To Torture Myself By Letting You Lash Out At Me."

"Sure, just run away from consequences like you always do." You snarl.

"AND YOU DON'T??" She rounds on you. "I WAS RISKING MY LIFE TO KEEP MY PEOPLE SAFE WHILE YOU KEPT TRYING TO ABANDON ME AT EVERY TURN!!"

"At least I was _trying_ to be brave and fix things!! You can't handle making _one_ mistake without wanting a total erasure!!"

"THE _PAEN_ WAS NOT JUST _ONE MISTAKE, _NOR WAS IT MINE!!" She roars.

"Yeah. They're all still dead, bitch, and _guess what_, now nobody even knows they ever existed because you fucking erased them from everyone's memories!!" Your voice cracks hoarsely with the heat of your poisonous wrath.

Lilith scowls at you. "I'm Not Doing This Anymore." She growls.

Cold ice douses your anger. "W-wait- Lilith-"

"WHAT?? YOU WANT TO TELL ME AGAIN WHAT A FUCKING HORRIBLE PERSON I AM?? I _KNOW _THAT, _THANK_ YOU, I DON'T NEED YOU TO SPELL IT OUT FOR ME!!" She shrieks. "I'M SORRY, ALRIGHT?? I'M SORRY AND I REGRET EVERYTHING!!"

"Oh." You say in a cold tone, because if you don't shroud yourself in frigidity you'd burst into tears and sobbing, maybe even beg for her to stay. "Well, I _don't_ forgive you."

"I DON'T CARE!" She wails, throwing her hands in the air. "I DON'T NEED YOUR FORGIVENESS TO KEEP LIVING MY LIFE, AND YOU _CERTAINLY_ DON'T NEED TO _FORGIVE_ _ME_ TO KEEP BEING- _IMPOSSIBLE_!!"

"F-fine!!" You shriek. "I don't need you!!"

"I DON'T NEED YOU EITHER!!" Her hands clench into fists. "DON'T CONTACT ME AGAIN."

"Wh-why would I _want_ to see y-your jerk-ass skull again." Your claws dig into the dirt as you struggle to keep your voice cold and smooth.

"I Don't Know." She growls. "I _Obviously_ Never Knew."

"I- I just wanted to give you a second chance, asshole. But fine, you don't want me, I'll- I'll just go."

Her bones rattle and her fists clench, but she doesn't reply. Her silence twists the bloody darkness deeper into your corrupted soul. You let out a furious wailing shriek and leap into the starry sky, rage blurring your vision. 

* * *

MK stares at the tense couple eating breakfast. Well, Lilith isn't eating, she just pokes at the oatmeal with a spoon. Undyne seems overly cheerful as she gulps down her sushi, like she's overcompensating for Lilith's lack of cheer.And Ross is visiting Cuina and Tonton for the week, so he's not here to break the mood by getting into trouble with his new invisibility schtick. "Yo, who died?"

"Fuhuhu, Ryuk did." Undyne laughs. "They're effectively dead to this family, you hear?? No more talking to them!"

MK scowls. He likes the dragon. "Yo, why??"

"Cause they hurt my girlfriend and if I ever cross paths with them again, FUHUHU, they're going to rue the day they ever met Lilith."

"They Already Do," Lilith mumbles listlessly. "Oh Stars, I Fucked It All Up, Undyne, I Fucked Everything Up!"

"Hey!! None of that!!" Undyne cries. "That bastard's just one person!! You helped all of us escape those creepy stars, right?!"

"Bracken did." Lilith says.

"Ngah, see?? Bracken was the one who reset, so you have nothing to be guilty about!!" Undyne says.

Lilith looks away, still upset. MK frowns and decides to get to the bottom of this himself. He doesn't like seeing Lilith all moody and sulky. "Yo, maybe she has a reason to be guilty, Undyne." He says. "And you ignoring that isn't helping."

"Well, what am I supposed to do??" Undyne retorts, then grabs Lilith's hand and kisses it. "Look, babe, you don't have to feel guilty!!"

Lilith doesn't reply and doesn't meet anyone's eyes. MK rolls his eyes. "Undyne, yo, that's not helping."

"Whaddyou know??" Undyne cries. "You're just a teen!"

"Yo, my magic bloomed now, I'm an adult!" MK retorts. "And Tonton's been teaching me stuff!" He turns to Lilith. "Listen yo, Lilith, we can accept you fucked up, and we still care about you, but maybe you should try to make amends-"

"I DID!!" She snaps. "I TRIED, BUT THEY WOULDN'T LET ME."

"Then that's their choice, yo." MK says. "You just have to move on."

Lilith nods sharply, but MK can see the tears welling in her sockets. "I- I Lied!" She cries, chin dropping into her scarf. "They Tried Harder Than I Did."

"Maybe you still have a chance, yo."

"I Doubt It." Lilith mopes. "I Told Them To Stay Away From Me."

MK grabs a piece of toast off the table, along with a slice of avocado. "Okay, yo, I'll talk to them, since both of you sound like you're letting your emotions about the past interfere."

"NOBODY CAN FIX THIS!" Lilith cries. "I RUINED EVERYTHING, OKAY?? They- They're Better Off Without Me!!"

"Squirt, you're not gonna even see them, hear me??" Undyne growls. "That bastard-"

"I want to fight them, yo." MK lies.

"NGAHH!! Kick their ass!!" Undyne cries and stands up, then grabs Lilith, who just passively accepts being dragged away to the couch.

MK hops out the door and spots Ryuk sulking across the street. "Yo, hey!" He calls. Ryuk startles, nearly leaping into flight. "Wait, I want to talk to you!"

As he comes alongside them, they stare at the ground. "I fucked it all up." They say sullenly. "I miss her, I- I want her, b-but my stupid mouth j-just kept talking."

"Did you tell her, yo?" MK asks. "You want to talk to her again, right?"

"She told me to stay away." They mumble. "But- but, yeah, I wanted one last time to try again."

"Do you want to let her make amends?"

"She doesn't want to!!" Ryuk cries. "I told her I wanted to forgive her!!"

"Yo, she thinks you don't want her to make amends. I think you both have different ideas of what that means. So I'm gonna mediate between you two."

"Heh." Ryuk huffs. "More than two years ago, before the reset happened, me and her were- well, we were kinda lovers."

MK nods and listens as they recount their side of the story. He can't help but empathize with their anger at Lilith. Hearing that he had a boyfriend who was erased from his memory makes him a bit angry himself. "Yo, Lilith is a pretty arrogant person. She never wants to face her mistakes."

"Exactly!!" Ryuk cries. "But I'd even forego wanting consequences for her, I just want her back!"

"Yo, maybe you being angry with her _is_ the consequence. And you're _both_ bad at communicating past your emotions, Ryuk."

"Y-yeah, I know." They mumble. "Can you tell her I miss her?"

"Yo, you both need therapy, I think." MK says. Ryuk scowls at that.

"I was a counsellor, I already know it all." They scoff.

"It's still good to talk to someone and learn better communication habits, yo." MK says. When Ryuk still looks unwilling, MK adds, "Yo, I'm not going to let you two talk to each other unless I know you can do it without lashing out at each other and making it worse."

"I guess that's a sign we shouldn't be together." They mumble sullenly.

"Yo, not any time soon. She did something awful to you, yo, and awful things happened to her, so it's understandable you're both letting your emotions get in the way instead of using those emotions to make progress." MK says. "It's fine to have feelings like fear, anger, grief, even guilt. You just gotta learn to control them before they drown you."

"Heh." Ryuk scratches their head. "Why are you always the one to verbally kick my ass whenever I've got an issue?"

"Yo, don't ask me. Now, in return for my magnanimousness in kicking your ass, you're going to tell me about my boyfriend and- and give me a ride!!" MK crows.

Ryuk grins, looking hopeful. "Sure."

* * *

Five months after the Barrier broke, the Grape Democracy gains equal rights for all sedryn and also gains recognition as a distinct nation. They buy up all the forest surrounding Mt. Ebott and start to develop it, welcoming all sedryn who want to join. There's a few adani dissenters who get more violent by the day, but for the most part, it's been relatively peaceful. Lilith resigns as ambassador and throws herself into architecture, designing houses and shops. Sans has been busy working as Tonton's secretary, so she barely sees him lately.

MK told her Ryuk misses her. He told her that they want to have another chance to talk again after both have learned better communication skills. Lilith can't handle all the emotions roiling about in her soul. She hates the painful guilt, she hates the aching grief, and she resents Ryuk for intensely sharpening all the feelings she's managed to avoid for two years. She's afraid to ever see Ryuk again; she doesn't want to be faced with all the agony of their just wrath, and she doesn't want to ruin it any more than she already has. So she focuses on her work and she doesn't think about her mistakes.

However, MK did convince her to at least consider therapy. So, after the initial pandemonium has died down, she goes to a sedryn-friendly therapist. "Hello, Miss Eleos." The woman greets; she looks achingly familiar. Lilith sits down in a seat. The woman introduces herself, offering a fawn-shaded hand for Lilith to shake, "You can call me Jazz."

Tears prick at the memory of her former officer who died in the battle with Frisk's fleet. "You May Call Me Lilith." She replies stiffly.

"Why are you here, Lilith?"

Lilith draws a blank. "Nyeh Heh, Because- Because My Friend Suggested I Go. I Don't Need To Be _Fixed_\- But He Said It Might Help Me R-Reconcile With Someone."

"Therapy can help you figure out the best way to approach the desired outcome." Jazz says, professional as always. "And it can be useful--not to _fix_ you, because you're not broken, but to learn better coping mechanisms and mental habits. But if you want help, you first need to admit to the problem. So. Why are you here? I'm not going to judge you and nothing we say will ever leave this room."

Shame pricks Lilith's pride. "It Might Sound Crazy." She says, deciding to tell the truth since she knows she can trust Jazz. "But I'm From The Future."

"Oh?" Jazz looks interested instead of doubting.

So Lilith explains the argument between her and Ryuk. She wanted to change time, erase the mistakes and bring everyone back. Ryuk wanted to keep moving forward with all the mistakes and deaths. Guilt makes it hard to talk when she comes to the part where she deceived them and used their willing love as a distraction while knowing it was all going to end and be erased. Jazz just nods and keeps her going with light questions. The whole story pours out.

"And- and now they hate me!!" She sobs.

"Mhm." Jazz hums. "You can't control how another person chooses to react if you've wronged them. You can only control how you approach them afterwards. Have you apologized?"

"MANY TIMES!!" Lilith cries. "BUT THEY WON'T FORGIVE ME!!"

"That's their choice. Have they given you any reason to think they just need some time?"

Lilith almost says '_no'_. Ryuk was still bitter the last time she talked to them. But they did admit they _wanted_ to forgive her, even if they lashed out right afterwards. Tears sting her sockets as grief tears through the scab on her soul. "It's Complicated. We've Spoken, And They Keep Trying To Reach Out To Me, But Then When I Try To Apologize Again, They Lash Out At Me!!"

"If they know you're sorry, maybe they don't want to hear more apologies." Jazz says.

"They Told Me They Want Consequences, But I Don't Know What They Want Me To Do!!"

"Have you considered relationship therapy in addition to this? If Ryuk agrees to talk to you with the presence of a mediator, it may help you both come to terms with each other."

"We're Not Together Anymore." Lilith says, and the grief drives deeper. She wants them back, she realizes with a pang of pain. She dearly wants them back but they can never love her again.

"Yes, but it's not just for lovers." Jazz says. "It could help, so just consider it."

The first session ends and Lilith agrees to come back the next week. If it weren't for wanting Ryuk to at least forgive her if not become her friend again, she would cut her losses and avoid therapy.

"Undyne," She says nervously to her friend later in the day. "I- I can't date you, not right now."

Undyne scowls. "Is this because of that bastard??" She demands.

"No!! It's not their fault, it's mine, Undyne. I can't use my relationships as a poor coping mechanism anymore. If I date anyone, it has to be because we both love each other- and I don't love you romantically right now, Undyne! I'm sorry."

Undyne shrugs. "Freaking heck, punk, I just wanted you to be happy. But I getcha. I don't think I really love you romantically either, I just really love you as a person, fuhuhu!!"

"N-Nyeh Heh, I Am A Magnificent Person, Aren't I!" Lilith forces a cheery cackle. "I Love You As A Person Too."

"Besties?"

"Bet Your Ass On It." Lilith cries, and Undyne yanks her into a headlock before giving her a vicious noogie. Lilith screeches indignantly and struggles in vain, but she's grateful for all her friends supporting her.

* * *

Strolling down the branch-shrouded street, Sans glances around sharply for his quarry. He spots them curled up with a few other people, so he strolls up to them and taps their scaly forehead, shortcutting them with the touch.

The dragon yelps and grasps the swaying bough with their talons as Sans leans against the trunk. "O-oh, hey, Sans." They greet, yawning. "You do realize we're in a tree, right?"

"yup." Sans says.

"Okay. Just checking." They say cheekily. Sans pins their soul with blue magic and their stance drops from cocky to apprehensive. "Uh, what'd I do now?"

"look, pal, i don't care what my sis did to you-" Sans starts.

"Look, _pal_, I don't give a fuck what you care or don't care about." The dragon snaps. "So leave me the fuck alone."

Sans falters. "wait, you don't know?"

"Know wha- is she okay??" They cry. "What happened??"

"she fell down after taking heavy damage." Sans growls. "i thought you musta fought with her."

"No, but- but what's_ fell down_ mean??"

"she's in a coma. sedryn- we rarely wake up from falling down." Sans's voice chokes at the memory of Lilith unconscious on her bed, her ribs and pelvis just about shattered along with her limbs. The only limb that wasn't broken was her prosthetic leg. "you had nothin' to do with that, right??"

"Sans, if I did that to her, I'd beg you to kill me right here." The dragon says. "I never wanted her to- to _die_!!"

"alright, kid, i dunno why, but i believe you." Sans sighs.

"Please, can I see her?" The dragon begs.

"nope. yer gonna help me figure out who the fuck attacked her." His voice trembles.

"Of course." They reply. "Where'd it happen?"

Sans releases them from the blue magic. Lilith mentioned they remembered the past timeline too. "what were yer relationships with me an' Lil, kiddo? all i know's what i've heard from undyne."

"I'm Ryuk. I was Lilith's friend, but I don't see how that matters now!"

"nah, yer right, kid, it's jes' my curiosity. c'mon." Sans says, hiding his relief to see that they're telling the truth. He holds out his hand. Ryuk tentatively gives him their paw.

He shortcuts them into the street where Lilith was found. Ryuk tenses and starts sniffing about, sharp eyes darting every which way. "heh." Sans huffs. "ya ain't a bloodhound, kid."

"Maybe not, but I've still got a good nose for trouble." They retort. "Look." They direct his gaze to the pothole in the street.

"yeah? it's a pothole, nothin' special."

Ryuk shakes their head. "No, it's a crater, and it smells acrid."

"uh. explain."

"Possibly explosives." Ryuk says. "Which means we're dealing with a potential terrorist attack."

"welp. fuck." Sans says. "i'll tell tonton to get the honor guard to investigate. thanks, kiddo."

Ryuk gives him a pleading look, "Can I-"

Sans sighs and holds out his hand again, then shortcuts them into Lilith's room. Their sharp horrified intake of breath upon seeing Lilith's condition confirms for him that they had nothing to do with the attack.

"L-Lilith-" Ryuk sobs miserably, sidling up to the bed and staring at the frozen grimace of pain on her jaws. "Y-yeah, this was an explosion." Their voice hardens. "Sans, I've killed before. If- if you find whoever did this, I- I want half."

"you want half the killing?" Sans checks their EXP, which matches their claim.

"Yes."

Sans shrugs. "sure, kid. you, uh, really cared about her, huh."

"We were lovers for a time," Ryuk mumbles. "She's- she's really something. Even if I was pissed at her, I didn't want anything _bad_ to happen to her!!"

"i trust ya, kiddo." Sans says. "okay, how about this, you kill'em, and i'll watch yer back and cheer ya on." Less work for him, and he still gets the satisfaction of watching the culprits die. "you, uh, can do magic, right?"

"Dunno." Ryuk growls. "But I won't let you down."

Sans pats their scaly head. "i'm dependin' on ya." He says, then has a thought. "hey, did i ever tell you my codeword for time travelers?"

"Uh, no." They say. "But I know you like sriracha."

"heh, that ain't gonna cut it, kid. tell me something only i or Lil would know."

"Uhh. Lilith keeps survival gear in her inventory, and you got mad at her after I stole it from you to give back to her." They reply with a slight smirk.

"huh, so that's where she got that random rope." Sans mutters, his grin fading. He forces it back and shrugs. "welp, Lil's strong, she ain't gonna dust any time soon."

The door slams open and Ryuk startles into a snarl and battle-ready stance, moving to block the intruder's path to Lilith. Frisk yelps and holds her hands up. "I just wanted to see Lily!"

"she ain't good, kiddo." Sans says. "ya don't want to see." Frisk pouts but leaves obediently. Ryuk doesn't relax, reminding Sans of Lil's faithful husky who died in the rebellion against Asgore's Royal Guards. "hey, kid." He says gently. "you wanna stand guard while i go talk to our prez?"

They nod tersely, their eyes wet with unshed tears. Sans chuckles darkly to himself. He'd cry if he could, but he doesn't have time or energy for that. "She'll recover, right, Sans?" Ryuk pleads.

"yeah, kiddo. she'll be alright." Sans lies before shortcutting to Tonton's office.

The android looks up with a sultry smirk. Cuina, perched on a rod set up beside Tonton's seat just for ker, warbles softly and Tonton strokes kis head. "Well, hello, darling."

"hey. we have reason to think a terrorist attack happened. i want an investigation into it." Sans says.

"Oh dear, who got hurt?" Tonton asks, his sultry tone disappearing into honest concern.

"L-Lilith." Sans's voice trembles with grief and rage. "she's been hurt real bad to the point she fell down."

Tonton stands up at once and orders Cuina to gather the honor guard. Sans can't quite process everything Tonton does in a whirlpool of activity, but then somehow he's sitting down with a blanket over his shoulders and holding a hot cup of cocoa smothered in whipped cream. His bones rattle with tension, so he sips the cocoa and tries to relax. "oh, if you figure out who did it, me an' lil's lover got dibs."

"I thought Lilith broke up with Undyne, darling."

"lil's lover from the past timeline." Sans explains distantly.

"Hey, what's going on?" Bracken steps inside. Sans tenses at the sight of the weed, who's the head senator, and who's probably also been manipulating the whole democracy, but nobody can prove anything.

"none of your business."

"Golly. I care about Lilith too." Bracken says haughtily.

"Darlings, calm down, we're going to figure this out. Together." Tonton placates.

"yeah. okay." Sans says, taking a deep breath. "anything to avenge my sister."

"Gee, she's not dead yet, is she?"

"That's correct, darlings, she's not dead yet, and she won't stay fallen down for long."

Bracken chokes on air. "Fallen down??" He cries.

"Yes, but don't worry, doll-"

"Gee, you idiots!!" Bracken snarls. "She's going to melt!!"

"what." Sans leaps out of his chair, spilling the cocoa and swaying dizzily as he struggles to process his horror.

"Who's watching her!" Bracken snaps.

"ryuk is-"

Bracken facepalms. "Wonderful, that moron. No matter. Listen, Sans, I think I can fix this for you, but it's only going to be a one time thing, so figure out who the terrorists are before I reset."

Sans nods, still unable to process the sheer weight of it all. "okay." He says.

* * *

Zest glitters with gold tips to his blue plasma. The first test went splendidly. He wants to do a few more, have some fun setting the two different species against each other before he reveals himself and conquers them all. He sets the viewer to look past the walls of the house where his target lays listlessly and dying. Its soul's strength steadily fades. There's another soul beside it. Zest recognizes this one. He remembers it begging for leniency and offering to help with the invasion. It lied.

Zest decides to punish it. "Set target," He orders and names the coordinates. A localized explosion shatters the already-wounded soul and knocks the other soul back. "Again," He says, and names the coordinates of the surviving soul. He turns the audio on. The soul's haunting agonized shriek echoes through the bridge like music.

Slight guilt wiggles into him. He remembers he once scorned such sadism in his fellow officers, but now he's become the sadist. "Rewind both." He orders, deciding to let them both go and do the conquering properly instead of playing with his food.

His officers obey the order and both souls return to health. Zest flickers pink and then orders a descent into the atmosphere of the mostly-red planet.


	32. Into The Fire Consumed

The memory of agony haunts Lilith as she jolts up out of her bed. Ryuk huddles on the floor, trembling and sobbing. "Ryuk!" Lilith cries. "I-"

"I'm sorry!" They wail, gripping their head with their claws. "I'm sorry I'm an ass to you all the time! And- and I know you said to stay away, but Sans told me you fell down and I had to-"

"Ryuk!" Lilith cries, cutting their hysterical rant off. "You're okay! I'm okay! We- we-" She stammers, unable to process the agony she just went through.

"We d-died." Ryuk whimpers, then crawls to their feet and sidles over to her. "I hate dying."

Lilith reaches her hand out tentatively to wipe the tears off their muzzle. Ryuk hesitates, then leans into the touch, eyes fluttering closed. "Ryuk," Lilith chokes on a guilty sob. "I- I Am So Sorry. You're Not The One Who Needs To Apologize. I've Been An- An Absolute _Moron _And A Jerk. Please- _Please_ Don't Go."

"I don't _want_ to leave you." They reply, their tone soft yet desperate. "B-but- what the _fuck_ happened?"

Lilith shakes her head. "I don't know."

"We died." Ryuk repeats, dazed. "So- so how are we alive- oh _shit_, Lilith, the Aggelos!"

"What about them??" Lilith cries, horror sinking into her bones.

"_Nothing_ was fixed!" Ryuk draws away, panic in their eyes. "Oh _stars_, the Aggelos killed us and did their rewind thingy again, but that doesn't make sense, why would they just attack _us_ out of the blue??"

"M-Maybe They Remember Us." Lilith says, bones rattling, spine prickling as though someone's watching her. "That's A Frightening Possibility."

Ryuk whimpers and ducks their head into Lilith's scarf. Lilith holds them close, trembling and feeling as though she's about to be exploded again at any moment. "Let's run away." Ryuk mumbles. "We can run away and hide in the mountain."

"Ryuk," Lilith growls, "That's Not A Good Solution. They're After Everyone, And They Probably Targeted Us Both As A Warning To Not Tell Anyone."

"S-so-"

"So We Should Tell Everyone." Lilith says before they can suggest staying silent.

"Y-yeah." Ryuk shudders, pressing against Lilith. "Okay."

Lilith pets their dark brownish-red scales, finding comfort in the thoughtless activity. "I Won't Let You Die."

"Heh." Ryuk mumbles, "I'm still just a coward."

"No," Lilith says. "Having fear doesn't make you a coward."

"I- I'm an asshole, too." Ryuk says with a small sob.

"Nyeh Heh, I Thought _I_ Was The Asshole." Lilith retorts. "And The Bitch, And The _Pregnant Cat_, And- And The Arrogant Pompous Jerk."

"Y-yeah, well, we can't _both_ be perfect." Ryuk giggles, bordering on hysterical.

"I don't think either of us are." Lilith says.

Ryuk's wings wrap around Lilith, holding her close. "We're two fucked-up people, aren't we." They murmur.

"Nyeh, I am, at least." Lilith hugs their neck as they cuddle her.

"I've- I've been going to therapy." Ryuk admits. "You were right to tell me to stay away. We were toxic to each other."

"Y-yes, We Were, And It Was My Fault." Lilith says.

"Yeah, well, I was an ass too."

"Nyeh heh, you certainly never minced words." Lilith chuckles. "But I hurt you-"

"I forgive you." Ryuk blurts. A weight lifts from Lilith's soul, but she wishes it didn't happen like this. It should never have taken simultaneous deaths and the looming threat of invasion to make her accept Ryuk's attempts-- however clumsy and bumbling those were-- at reconciliation.

"Thank You." Lilith says. "I think we should remain apart, though."

"Wh-what?" Ryuk wails. "Why?"

"Just until we're both healthier!" Lilith explains, hugging them tighter as they shake with sobs. Guilt presses on her soul. "I don't- I don't want to fuck this all up again, and I don't want to hurt you anymore, but I know we can both learn better skills! I care about you, Ryuk, and I know you care about me. So- so just a few months, maybe a year, and then if you still care about me, you can find me and we can be friends again."

Ryuk keeps sobbing miserably, but they finally manage to choke out, "O-of course I-I'll still care about y-you!"

"I Will Too, So There's No Fear, We'll Meet Again!" Lilith cries.

"D-does this mean no post-death canoodling?" They hiccup.

"Exactly." Lilith says sternly. "No Canoodling For Either Of Us."

"Oh." Ryuk says. "Th-that's probably a good thing." They huff and nuzzle into her scarf. "It would make me feel better, though."

"Only temporarily." Lilith replies, resisting her own desire to be distracted again. "Then we'd be back to our toxic ways."

"We weren't _that_ toxic." Ryuk complains.

"Ryuk." Lilith says, sighing and accepting the guilt and blame that her own soul piles high on her back. "I'm probably the definition of toxic."

"B-but I don't want to lose you." Ryuk's voice cracks.

"I'm Sorry, Ryuk." Lilith says as gently as she can. "I Like You, But I Need To Be A Better Person Before We Decide Where To Take Our Relationship, If We Ever Have One Again."

Ryuk lets out a little tremulous sigh. "I like you, too."

"You Deserve Better." Lilith presses her forehead to theirs. "Allow Me To Become Better, For You."

"C-can I have one kiss?" Ryuk pleads. "Just one, for dying?"

Lilith sighs with a soft smile on her jaws. "Oh, _Fine_, You Scoundrel." She bumps her jaws on their nose.

They pout about as well as any dragon can pout. "You missed."

"Did I?" Lilith smirks at them. "I think we have bigger things to worry about."

"Oh, yeah." They grumble. "Fine, but I expect a proper kiss when I come back."

"If that's in a few months, I'll happily oblige you!" Lilith says, feeling light and airy despite the recent death weighing her down with retroactive horror. She's not panicking, though. Not yet.

"welp." Sans says behind Ryuk, and they yelp and drop Lilith from their wings, backing away guiltily. "looks like a kiss saved the day after all, huh."

"Wait- y-you're not mad?" Ryuk cries.

"do ya want me to be?" Sans says with his traumatized kind of grin. Lilith gets up and hugs him close. He clings to her like she's a lifeline. "i- i thought- bracken said you were gonna melt and- and i was ready to say goodbye." Sans collapses into sobs, limp in Lilith's arms.

"Oh, Sans." Lilith hums and cradles him as she sits back down on her bed. "I Love You."

"love you, too, sis."

Lilith and Sans hug each other in silence for a few minutes, until Ryuk interrupts the comfortable peace. "The Aggelos are invading." They shuffle their wings, decent enough to look guilty for shattering the moment. "They attacked Lilith and I, and then brought us both back to life. It- uh, I'm not sure how it works."

"oh, okay." Sans says, his grin tightening and sockets blacking out, presumably at the realization Lilith just died. Lilith pats his skull.

"We're Alright, Sans. I'm Alright." She soothes him with the lie. "It Was Nothing I Hadn't Gone Through Before."

"oh, that makes it all just fine, then." Sans says. Lilith restrains an eye roll at his sarcasm.

"I'm Fine, Sans. We Can Handle This, We Just Need To Prepare Everyone For The Invasion."

"how?? sis, they literally killed you inside your own bedroom, how can we fight that??" Sans cries. Lilith tenses, not having an answer.

"Uh," Ryuk pipes up, "They're physically weak."

"oh?"

"Y-yeah so, my mom was an Aggelos, and I killed her." Ryuk says with a valiant effort at nonchalance. "They only take one hit, but they've got really powerful technology, which will make it hard to get into their ships."

"Lilith, talk to the governor. i'll tell tonton." Sans says. "ryuk, tell undyne to evacuate everyone into the emergency shelters."

"Y-yes, sir." Ryuk replies. Lilith pats their head. "I- I guess this is it for a few months, then." Ryuk grins wanly up at Lilith. "See you on the other side, Lilith."

"Till We Meet Again." Lilith says, then takes Sans's hand. The flash of black distorts the world, but the last sight of Ryuk smiling with tears dripping down their muzzle stays with her.

* * *

Rolling about in the puddles on the lawn, Ross flaps his feathered arms and waves his feathered tail while Mama shouts at the dragon who somehow appeared in the house. "I told you to stay the heck away from us!! How dare you sneak in behind my back!!"

"I just wanted to see her!!" The dragon cries, cowering as Mama threatens them with several spears.

"Wimp, I'm giving you one last chance to get your butt off of my property. One." Mama holds up two fingers. "Two."

"Wait, there's an invasion coming and you need to evacuate everyone!" The dragon says, backing away as Mama looms over them. Ross sneaks over to watch them get beaten up by Mama.

Mama cracks her knuckles and growls in her scary voice, "Three."

"_Eep_-" The dragon yelps and turns tail to flee. Mama roars and storms after them, sending spears to chase them. Ross lopes in pursuit. Mama gives up after a few hundred meters as the dragon flees faster than Mama can run. Ross races past. Mama doesn't see him because he's still hidden.

The dragon keeps running. Ross whispers an orange word Cuina taught him and fire spurts through his soul, giving him energy to catch up to the dragon. He lopes beside them, roaring his own little roar. He may be all of three years old, but he can beat them up for Mama.

The dragon stops short upon hearing Ross's terrifying roar. They look around, confused. Ross giggles and the dragon leaps back, startled. "Who's there??"

"Ross!" Ross unhides himself. "I beat you up for Mama!" He leaps at the dragon with another roar, clawing at their neck.

The dragon bursts into laughter as Ross gnaws at their horn with his pointy teeth, his hook-claws sliding instead of ripping through the dragon's scales. "Heh, you're a little bruiser, aren't you."

"Die, scum!!" Ross leaps at their wing and bites down on the thick membrane. The dragon yelps and the wing flares wide, knocking Ross off.

"Hey, I didn't do anything!" The dragon protests as Ross rolls to his feet, growling. "Your mom's a bitch, that's all!"

"Mama hate you, so I hates you too, scum!!" Ross snarls. "Don't call Mama names!"

"Ugh." The dragon grumbles and turns to stomp away. "Leave me alone, kid."

Ross growls and snaps a purple word, another one he picked up from Cuina. The wire binds the dragon's soul and Ross sees the dragon's name floating above their soul. _Ryuk_. What a dumb name.

"Ryuk is a stupid name!" Ross crows. "Stupid-head!!"

"Sh-shut up!!" Ryuk snaps and starts to run. Ross runs after them. He isn't done beating them up.

"Stupid-head, stupid-head!" Ross singsongs.

Ryuk rounds on him. "Listen, kid, if I have to hear one more word from you, _darling mama_ is going to find you in a _gutter_ somewhere."

Ross scowls. They're obviously lying, but adults usually lie to him. Even Mama. "Which gutter?" He calls their bluff.

Ryuk pounces on him and he yelps as his feet leave the ground. The ground keeps getting smaller as Ryuk's wings beat the air. "I warned you, kiddo!" Ryuk snarls.

"N-no, no gutters!!" Ross wails. "Mama'll beat you!!"

Ryuk's wingbeats even out until they're soaring high above the city. Ross gasps in awe at the sparkling blue river far below and the green poky trees. "Like it?" Ryuk says, a smirk evident in their voice.

"Woah!!" Ross cries, then screams as Ryuk tosses him into the air. But he lands safely on their back and holds on tightly to their neck. "You lied!" He accuses.

"I mean, if you want me to find a gutter-"

"No!" Ross snaps and gnaws at one of their horns again.

"Okay, there's your house, or we could, y'know, scare your mama a bit and have you sleep over with my friends. Some're kids, like you."

Ross coos at the thought of meeting friends around his age. He's never actually met another kid before. "Kids!!" He cries.

"Okay." Ryuk says and banks sharply through the wind. A light appears in their soul, chewing away at their body. Ross stares at it, realizing faintly that he still has the purple binding active and he doesn't know how to turn it off.

Ryuk shrieks as they start to fade out of existence, light consuming them. They dive for the ground. Ross screams.

They disappear. Ross falls and tries desperately to fly despite his lack of wings. Something yanks at his soul and he closes his eyes and the world _blinks_.

He opens his eyes and hides instinctively. Ryuk trembles in a metal cage. Ross crawls under their wing, scared of the star-creature speaking in static bursts. Ryuk tenses upon sensing him but covers him with their wing and puts a foreleg in front of him as added protection.

"H-hey," Ryuk says nonchalantly. "Long time, no see. I- I can help you."

The star says something else in its staticky language.

"H-heh. Funny, cause I thought you were g-going to destroy us all as soon as you had no use for us. B-but I can be useful to you!" Ryuk stammers, fear showing in their voice. Ross whimpers and Ryuk's wing tightens protectively around him.

The star leaves after saying something else. Ryuk collapses and curls around Ross. "Stay hidden, you hear me?? Whatever you're doing, _keep doing it_." They snarl in a low voice. "If they discover you, you'll be killed."

Ross trembles and starts to cry softly for Mama. Ryuk says nothing more, only letting the toddler hide and sob under their wing.

* * *

Undyne storms around her house, shouting for her son. Frisk helps her search for Ross, then sees a shadow fall across the window. She looks out and sees a humongous octopus in the sky outside the dome, blocking out the sun and the twin moons. "Undyne!" She calls. "Look!"

Undyne stomps over and her eye widens as she stares at the huge metallic tentacled mass of metal descending on the dome. "Oh _shit_, they weren't joking." She mutters. "We really are being invaded. And I can't find my son- NGAH, I'll bet anything that bastard stole him!!" Undyne punches the reinforced log wall and leaves a splintering dent in it.

"What do we do?" Frisk asks, tense with worry but trying to practice the breathing exercises her therapist suggested.

Sirens wail in the distance. An amplified voice echoes across the small sedryn town, "Unidentified Flying Object Spotted Above Dome. Intentions Unknown. All Residents, Please Evacuate To The Emergency Shelters."

Undyne rummages in the basement, then drags out a large metal box and puts it on the lawn. "Fuhuhu, Cuina made this for me, I was going to take Ross on a vacation!! But we're gonna use it to hunt that bastard down!!" Undyne crows.

A huge holographic screen opens in the sky above. Undyne looks up and shrieks in rage at the sight of star-like creatures in some sort of metal room, and that weird dragon Lilith knows standing beside them. "That fucking _traitor_!!"

Frisk frowns. One wing of the dragon is dipped lower, like it's broken.

Static echoes over the silent cities. Then the dragon speaks, "H-hey, so, these are the Aggelos. They're here to conquer you. Please submit quietly and nobody will get hurt. D-dewdrop is not safe." They flinch as the star speaks again in unintelligible static.

Undyne stares, enraged, her eye twitching. Frisk frowns. "Dewdrop isn't safe?"

"That. Fucking. BASTARD!!" Undyne shrieks. "Ross is with them!!"

"What?? How do you know??" Frisk cries.

"Because they just fucking _told me_!!" Undyne yells. "I'm going to fucking whip that bastard's ass!! NGAH!!" She kicks the metal box and Frisk yelps as it expands over the yard into a large hovering craft. "Get in, we're chasing that fucker down!"

Frisk hops into it and shrieks delightedly at the spacey themes painted on the walls. Undyne scoffs and storms past her to take the helm.

* * *

Cuina looks out at all the runabouts rising from the ground to flee the huge ship in the sky. Ke drags the unconscious Tonton into kis own craft. Sans drags Lilith inside via blue magic as she screams at him. It's better to get away while they all still can, before the Aggelos take over and conscript everyone.

Lilith curses at Sans as he locks her into the back room. "stay safe, sis." He orders. "cuina, don't let anythin' happen to her."

Cuina nods to him, then buckles Tonton into a seat before the robot can wake up and try to escape. Ke had to knock him out to make him come with. Ke offered to knock Lilith out too, but Sans refused.

Sans salutes Cuina and disappears. Cuina sees Undyne's spacecraft rising up before it cloaks. Ke fires the engine up and cloaks kis own craft. Lilith kicks the door down just as the spacecraft shoots into the sky. "WHERE THE FUCK IS SANS??" She cries furiously.

Cuina ignores her and keeps flying. Ke has a duty to protect Tonton and her. Lilith shouts at ker and tries to steal the controls. Cuina binds her to a chair with a purple word, letting her rage and curse at ker.

After ke goes through one of the dome's airlocks, ke heads for the Star Command Academy, the largest space station orbiting Mars. Down below, the runabouts that don't have cloaking technology start to explode one by one. Cuina reaches the station and orbits it, looking for a good starship to commandeer. "_Ka_, Lilit, choose a ship!" Ke orders Lilith.

Lilith grumbles, but finally points out a dreadnought. Cuina rewards Lilith by releasing her. Tonton groans and starts to come to. "Fucking Crazy Bird." Lilith growls.

"I'm keeping you safe!" Cuina protests.

"THEN WHERE'S SANS??" Lilith snarls.

Cuina clicks kis beak sheepishly. "He didn't want to come."

Lilith glowers at ker. "TONTON AND I DIDN'T WANT TO COME EITHER!! YOU JUST FORCED US TO ABANDON EVERYONE!! DID YOU EVEN CONSIDER THE OPTICS OF THE PRESIDENT ABANDONING HIS PEOPLE OR DID YOU JUST KNOCK HIM OUT AS SOON AS YOU HEARD OF THE ALIEN THREAT??"

"We're going to commandeer the ship." Cuina shuffles kis wings uncomfortably. "And you're not going to complain."

"YOU LEFT EVERYONE BEHIND!!" Lilith snarls. "TAKE US BACK!!"

"No!" Cuina squawks. Ke needs to keep Tonton safe, and Sans told ker to keep Lilith safe too.

* * *

Sirens wail all around. Runabouts explode in the sky as they try to flee. MK and his gang direct people into the evacuation shelters, hunting down people who may not know where the shelters are. "Yo, here's your plushie, now go with your dads, okay?" MK tells a little adani girl, who grabs the treasured plush otter and nods with a watery smile at him.

MK looks up into the sky at the huge battlecruiser. The sight seems familiar, like he's seen that starship before. Time nonsense. Lilith's told him and Undyne about the star-like aliens before. He never took it seriously.

"Mil-Gwedh, we're running out of space for everyone!" One of MK's lieutenants reports.

"It's gonna be okay, Esther. Yo, take groups into the forest. Tell Wesley's team to gather weapons and supplies." MK feels like he's exactly where he's always trained to be, even though he's never taken a strategy course in this life.

"Yes, sir!" Esther salutes with the gang sign and runs off. She's a bit older than MK, but still respects his authority as the leader. All the Dandy Lions do.

MK scans the crowds, looking for his rival, then spots him dragging Chara through the streets. "Yo, Bracken!"

"Gee, MK. What a surprise, I thought Undyne would have taken you too."

"What??"

"Golly, she didn't tell you? She ran away with Frisk. Lilith and Tonton are gone too, it's just us."

MK scowls, bewildered. "Yo, they wouldn't leave without a good reason."

"There's your reason, as good as any." Bracken grins angrily and points up at the battlecruiser. "They fled."

"Gather all the people who can fight and hide them in the secret base in the forest, yo." MK orders, dismissing the disheartening news to deal with later. "We need to get a guerrilla force together for when the aliens land. Bracken, since you're so sleazy, you play nice with them and get near the leader." '

"Gee, who died and made you king."

"Yo, I'm trying to get everyone in order here, so either help me or fuck off and stay out of my way." MK retorts.

Chara speaks for Bracken, "He'll help." Bracken gives them a betrayed pout. They continue, "We both will."

"Great." MK says. "Now get moving!"

* * *

The conquering happens easily with the help of the translator Zest nabbed. Zest relays orders down to the Governor of the Martian colony. If he doesn't get ten million soldiers and fifty thousand starships, he'll destroy the dome keeping their atmosphere in. Setting up a supply chain to the Grand Erudite's fleet will be more difficult and time-consuming without two extra battlecruisers, but Zest is sure he can manage it.

There's a sulfuric planet nearby with a thick atmosphere, but it seems like it once was habitable and maybe even would be a good source of fuel. Zest orders an expedition to it. His translator claims it was called 'Earth'. The scaly winged beast seems to have a broken wing, since it keeps one wing dipped lower across its side. Zest sends it back to its cage since he has no further use for a translator at the moment.

The Quasar Aggelos won't know what hit them when the Dai'zhe Aggelos send their forces of conquered peoples to distract the Quasars' ships while the Dai'zhe destroy them from behind the meat-shield. Finally, the ages-old feud between the two groups will be satisfied with the extinction of one side.


	33. The Pulse In My Veins

Every waking moment gnaws at you with constant exhausting fear. Ross stays under your wing, invisible somehow. You can't sleep, struggling to remain vigilant so the Aggelos don't catch him. The one thing that consumes your thoughts is how to get him off the ship. _You_, you're not worried about for once, because you can bluff your way into safety. Not with Ross's life at stake, though.

When Novice H-N4 comes with your food, you tuck the bowl under your wing and pretend to eat shyly as Ross gobbles down the composite of nutrients and protein. You're not sure you could hold down any food if you tried. "Th-thanks." You mutter to H-N4 as you pass the empty bowl back.

The pinkish-purple star flickers a cheerful cyan. "No problem, thank you for helping us!" She says.

"Y-yeah, sure." You bare your teeth in an attempt to smile. She seemsnice enough, but you don't trust her. "Heh, so, uh, since I'm gonna be here a while, can you show me around?"

H-N4 giggles brightly. "Sure! I'd love to! Maybe you can help me with a couple tests later?"

Wincing, you grin weakly and say, "Yeah, okay."

She lets you out of your cell. You don't know the layout of the ship, or you would grab Ross and book it right about now. But you'd only get lost and then be caught again. "Hey, is your thingy broken?" She asks, flopping the wing covering Ross with her telekinesis.

You wince back as Ross whimpers. "Yep," You cough to cover his quivering sobs. "I, uh, broke it a while ago, still hasn't healed."

"I can heal it for you!" H-N4 cries. "Come on, this way!"

You hesitate for a moment. "Uh, it's fine, really, it'll heal on its own!"

H-N4 flickers red in confusion. "Really? I can speed it up for you."

"My- uhhh, my religion doesn't allow me to accept healing from other people!" You say quickly.

"I want to heal it." H-N4 decides, ignoring your protests. "You can fly, right?"

The hall she's taken you down has nobody else in sight. "Yeah." You say, reaching into your inventory for your haladie.

"Cool! You'll fly for me in the wind tunnel." She says brightly.

"Distract her." You growl under your breath to Ross.

Ross growls and rushes out, uncloaking and roaring at the star. H-N4 screeches, but a thrust of your haladie cuts her cry short. She stammers in staticky bursts, then explodes into rose-gold powder as you twist the blade. You grab Ross up and swing him onto your back, then drop to all fours to flee.

As you barrel around the corner, two Aggelos focus on you, flaring red with confused surprise. You draw your haladie and slash at them both as you leap past. Ross roars. One explodes into dust. The other rolls under the strike and grips you with its telekinesis to try to throw you. Breaking free with a snarl, you charge it down and thrust into the plasma.

You're covered in their shimmering pinkish-yellow dust. There's no way Zest will forgive this. It's now a fight for both your life and Ross's. Your soul pounds in your ribs, terror giving you energy to flee faster through the ship. You kill whenever you come across an Aggelos. Ross cheers you on with his little roars, reminding you why you have to fight.

The halls converge on a central disc-shaped room. You stumble to a halt, recognizing it. The bridge is the last place you wanted to be. The council of elders, equivalent to officers, pin you with their focus. You can't possibly fight all of them. You're covered in the dust of their subordinates. Ross roars. You charge.

The first two die easily, too surprised to put up any fight. The next three get in each other's ways as they're trying to grab you with their individual telekinesises. They die as well. Five down, seven left. The Boss, who calls himself Zest, shrieks orders. You can't make any fancy maneuvers since Ross is on your back.

Growling, you stalk in a circle around them, cutting off your escape route by forcing them to back towards the door. One of them flees before you reach the controls to put the bridge on lockdown. Thick metal blocks slide across the door. The bridge is exactly the place you need to be, since it can eject itself from the rest of the ship.

Zest snarls an order to drop your weapon, but you barely process it, and instead charge at him as Ross squeals with excitement. Another Aggelos gets in your way and dies with a thrust of your haladie. One tries to attack from behind you, but you stab back with the second blade and give it a vicious twist. Lilith trained you to never speak during a fight and instead focus on calm inhalations and sharp focused exhalations. Five left.

"Hide." You order Ross, backing away to the consoles bordering the edge of the disc. "Stay there." He slips off your back and goes invisible. You go into stance and growl at the five remaining Aggelos.

Zest tries to grab you with his telekinesis, but you break free and leap at him. Arcs of lightning dart from his body, striking you and throwing you back against the wall. You stumble back onto your feet, barely feeling any pain. You- you can do this. You're a decent fighter now, thanks to Lilith and Undyne. These idiots can't even control their own magic; Zest hit his officers as well with the lightning.

Circling around, you attack the four disoriented officers and easily dispatch them. One left. "Drop your weapon and it will be spared!" Zest shouts. You spin around. Zest has Ross in his telekinetic grasp.

Your determination vanishes into exhausted pulses of terror. You can't do this. The haladie trembles in your hand. "Please- please don't hurt him." You plead, but don't drop your dagger.

Zest flares a smug turquoise. "I will if you don't surrender."

You take a step forward. Ross whimpers and squirms in the air, struggling as Zest tightens his grip. You stop short. Ross is just a kid. His life is more important to protect. The haladie clatters on the floor and you kneel before the Aggelos to beg. "D-don't hurt him. He was accidentally taken, please- please send him back to his mother."

"I will." Zest promises and slides your haladie towards himself as he sets Ross down. You don't trust him. You can't trust him. He's going to kill both of you. "Who is his mother?"

You glance up in surprise. "Undyne. She's-"

"We'll find her." Zest says. "We'll leave her and her baby on the surface with the start of the supply chain."

Sudden anger bubbles underneath the terror for your life, then boils over. _It's_ _not fair_. "There are other mothers and children!" You snarl. "All of us, families and lovers and friends, but you're just using us, forcing us to- to attack someone who never did us any wrong!"

Zest sets Ross down. Ross cowers and cries for his mama, stabbing you with guilt. Zest flickers an uncertain rosy-orange. "Just- just accept my deal." He says finally. "I won't harm the child or its mother, but my job doesn't allow for mercy beyond that."

"Oh." You say, noting with crisp yet distant horror his implication that you _will_ be harmed. "Thanks for- for sparing Ross."

Zest ends the lockdown and several Aggelos pour into the bridge, their words too much to process. Ross wails as one picks him up. "It- it's okay, Ross." You promise him in a dull tone. "You'll be okay."

"I want Mama!!" Ross screams. "I want Mama!!"

"They're going to take you to Undyne." You soothe him as several Aggelos grab your limbs in their telekinesis. "It's all going to be okay."

Ross stops crying. "Ryuk come with?" He asks.

"Y-yeah, Ross." You lie, smiling blithely. "I'll come with, and then your mama will beat me up for kidnapping you."

"Fuhuhu!!" Ross giggles. "Mama thrash you, scum!!"

"Yeah, heh, that's me." You sigh and glance back at Zest holding your haladie. "Ryuk: total scum."

Ross giggles as the Aggelos take him away, hopefully to a teleporter to be reunited with Undyne. You're forced prostrate on the ground. There's nothing you can do, not if you want Ross to be returned safely.

"How many did you kill?" Zest asks.

"Twenty." You guess, since you didn't exactly keep count.

"You are sentenced to twenty days of starvation and whatever experiments my scientists want to use you for." Zest says and rests the haladie on his console at the opposite end of the bridge from the door.

Confused, you stare at him blankly. "Y-you're not- not going to kill me?"

"Not yet, since we still have use for a translator. Besides, those you killed were weak enough to be defeated by an inferior lifeform, so they didn't deserve to live." Zest replies.

You submit to being dragged back to your small metal cell. The door clangs closed. Sharp teeth of despair and helpless terror gnaw through the veneer of tired detachment, and you collapse, sobbing on the cold floor until sleep finally drags you into merciful darkness.

* * *

The stars twinkle coldly outside the viewport. Undyne growls, her focus locked on the alien invaders' ship. She's been staking it out for two days now, searching for a weakness, a point of entry. Frisk sleeps in the back room, exhausted from doing nothing all day. Undyne spots a hatch on the side of the ship. She maneuvers the runabout to align its hatch with the ship's.

A magnetic pulse knocks the runabout back into an uncontrolled spin. Undyne grips the controls, steadying her craft, anger flooding her soul. "NGAAAHH!!" She cries, burning tears rolling down her cheek.

"M-Mama!!" The craft twists about as Undyne sets the course back to the dome. She gets up, wipes the tears from her eye, and then spins around. Ross leaps into her arms. "Mama!!"

"Ross!!" Undyne cries, tears pouring from her eye.

Ross snuggles his nose into her neck. She embraces him tightly. "Mama, where's Ryuk?" Ross asks.

"That freaking idiot stole you." She growls. "They're freaking lucky they're not here."

Ross shakes his head. "Is my fault, mama, I useded my magic on them! Ryuk didn't steal me!! Where's them??"

Undyne glowers at the alien invaders' ship. "They might as well be dead, squirt."

Ross starts to wail. Uncomfortable, Undyne keeps hugging him. "Want Ryuk!!" Ross sobs.

"Ngah, okay, okay." Undyne sighs, unable to resist her son's pleas. "We'll save the freaking bas- jerk."

"Yay!!" Ross squeals and kisses Undyne's cheek. Undyne kisses his nose, then notices he's covered in rose-gold powder.

"_After_ you go home and take a bath." She growls. "What's this stuff all over you, anyway??"

"Dead stars!!" Ross crows, then makes a ferocious roar. "Ryuk killeded'em dead!!"

Undyne brushes the dust off of Ross's muzzle. "Punk, you're telling me that wimpy jerk protected you with their _life_?"

Ross nods with watery eyes. "Ryuk dead, mama?"

"Nah, squirt." Undyne growls soothingly. "That punk won't die so easily."

Frisk steps out of the back room, rubbing her eyes. "Whaa- we're not cloaked?" She says blearily. "Oh, we saved Ross? Hehe, now we can go home, yay!"

"Yeah, squirt, we're headed home." Undyne says. "And we're making that darn birb watch Ross while we go on another freaking rescue mission." She grins. "I can't wait to thrash that punk for killing in front of my kid, fuhuhu!!"

Frisk grumbles under her breath, then says, "Can't we just explode the ship already??"

"Ngah, we don't have any freaking explosives!!" Undyne retorts. "C'mon, let's go home."

"And save Ryuk!" Ross cries happily, bouncing in Undyne's arms. Undyne hugs him tight.

"Heck yeah, squirt. We'll save that goshdarn punk." Undyne cries and tosses Ross in the air.

* * *

Huge asteroids surround the cloaked spaceship as Cuina steers it deftly deeper into the field. Tonton groans, struggling against the bindings tying him to the captain's chair. "Darling, what are you doing?"

"Saving you." Cuina warbles. Tonton doesn't remember when he met ker, but ke's always been protective of him.

"Dearest." Tonton says, restraining his anger in favor of a calmer tone. "I need to save my people. You can't save me without saving them, too."

"It's No Fucking Use." Lilith says sulkily, leaning against the wall of the bridge. "I Tried."

"You aren't me, darling." Tonton retorts.

"No use, ka. I'll protect you." Cuina squawks. "When the Aggelos leave, I'll let you back."

Tonton glares at Cuina, who ruffles kis feathers in discomfort. "You do realize this makes it look as though the president has _run away_, abandoning his people?"

"I don't care, as long as you're safe." Cuina says, bobbing kis beak.

"I can protect myself quite well enough!" Tonton snarls. "And my people are looking for a leader! Who will keep them encouraged in this dreadful invasion now?? Answer me, Cuina, who besides myself can I trust to lead my people??"

Cuina looks ashamed as ke chirps softly, "There's other leaders, Tonton. They can take care of themselves."

"But I need to help them!!" Tonton rages. "You're taking that choice away from me!!"

Cuina ruffles kis feathers again, looking like a big black poof. Tonton glowers at the bird. "I won't let you be killed again, Tonton." Cuina says.

Tonton drops his head. "I will never forgive you if my people are destroyed."

"I can live with that." Cuina warbles.

Wrath boils in Tonton's soul and he roars, "_Well_, _I_ _CAN'T_!!"

Cuina cocks kis head and stares at the ground. Tonton sighs and glances back at Lilith- but she's not in sight anymore. He hopes she used the distraction to escape. "Sorry, Tonton." Cuina says with a sad warble. "But I need you to eat this."

Tonton stares at the golden drop in kis claw. "Darling, where did you get that." He growls.

MK showed it to him when the boy first found it in his poncho pocket. Tonton did tests on the drop. It's pure condensed DT. How or when MK got it, Tonton has no clue. "MK gave it to me." Cuina shakes kis feathers, blatantly lying.

"Do you not know what that _does_??" Tonton snarls. "Or are you just so desperate to keep me alive you'll force me to live a hellish existence??"

Cuina ducks kis head guiltily. "I know what it does, but I can stop the effects. Ross-"

"Say no more." Tonton snaps bitterly, understanding now how Undyne's son crossed to this timeline. The idiot bird fed a dangerously volatile element to the clueless, innocent child. "I won't take it."

Cuina's unique webbed feathers poof further. "Then I will."

"No!!" Tonton cries and jerks against the bindings. "Cuina, don't you dare!!"

"To protect you, I have to!" Cuina snaps back and then takes the drop in kis flexible beak and throws kis head back, gulping it down. Ke gasps, then screams and writhes on the floor. The magic binding Tonton to the chair releases. Tonton gets up and starts for Cuina, then stops. There's nothing he can do for his former friend. He turns and storms out of the bridge.

When he reaches the hangar, he finds Lilith in a runabout already, working at the cloaking device. "Want some help, darling?"

Lilith scowls. "Cuina Sabotaged It."

"Well, then, we'll just have to be extra cautious, won't we." Tonton purrs, controlling his fury at the bird.

"Nyeh, I Suppose So." Lilith says and stands at the helm. It's been designed for Cuina's wing-claws, but Lilith's dextrous phalanges work almost as well. The runabout rises and shoots out the airlock of the hangar into the asteroid field. "It'll take a couple days to get back." Lilith sounds angry yet slightly apologetic at the same time.

"I understand." Tonton says gently. He's not angry with Lilith. Cuina made kis choice. Nobody can sway ker when ke's stubborn like this.

The runabout darts through the field of huge heavy rocks. Tonton watches the dreadnought grow smaller behind them, sadness peeking through the cold snow of righteous wrath in his soul. He sits back in his chair, willing himself to be patient. Patience didn't come easily when he first became a star, he had to train himself into the discipline. Now he's a president, with so many people looking to him for guidance-- he's failed them-- so, now more than ever, he needs patience.

* * *

Bracken doesn't want to reset. He will if he has to, but he's hated it ever since Frisk started abusing the power. It's not like it'll make the Aggelos go away. If anything, it'll only make them angrier if they remember.

As the adani Governor has her military officers line people up to sort them into groups to be either sent up into space or kept on the ground, all to serve as cogs in the Aggelos' grand plan, Bracken wonders what he could have done differently. Maybe he could have stopped Mettaton and Undyne from running away. Maybe be could have prepared everyone sooner.

Or maybe the Aggelos would still just capture everyone- wait. Cuina's cloaking technology allowed some of the runabouts to flee, while the rest were destroyed. If Bracken made it so that Cuina gave this tech to _everyone_, they could mount a resistance force. He'd be a hero.

He grins and kisses Chara. "Love, I'll see you real soon."

Chara, standing behind him in the line, grins and kisses him back. "Okay, Ree. Do what you have to."

Bracken focuses his power on the world, bending it to his will. The world stutters.

Nothing happens. Bracken's teeth bare in a frustrated snarl as he tries again. Still, nothing. "What's wrong, Ree?" Chara asks.

"I- I can't reset!" He hisses, staring at his shaking fists. Someone else has control. "I had it, but it's gone!"

"It's going to be okay, as long as I'm here with you." Chara hums, slipping their fingers between his.

Bracken growls in frustration. "How long will that be??"

Chara leans on his arm and whispers in his ear, "Till the end of time, if I'm your heart."

Heat consumes Bracken, making him lost for words momentarily. "Gee, Chara, you really love me that much?"

"Of course I do, dumbass." They laugh. "Kill me and take my soul."

"Golly." Bracken smirks. "That's kinda drastic, don'cha think? Maybe I'd prefer to see how this whole thing plays out before I do something so- _committed_."

Chara pouts at him, hanging on his arm. "Okay, fuck you."

"I could do better." Bracken purrs, caressing Chara's reddening cheeks. "I could do _so much better_."

Chara purses their lips and glances away. "Who's got the reset now?" They ruin the mood, so Bracken kisses them.

"Who cares, love. We don't have it anymore, and good riddance." He says. "Golly, don't tell me you want to _forget_ these amazing years I've given you."

"Ree." Chara says. "We are being invaded right now."

"Sure, sure." Bracken replies. "But we can use this to our advantage."

"How??"

Bracken grins and pats their head. "You just wait and watch me." He says, not having a plan at all.

* * *

Agony blazes through Cuina's body as ke screeches and writhes. Ke struggles to form words, bright colorful words, but the deep-red tar steals them away and locks kis beak in spasms of sharp acidic pain. The cold metal floor serves only slightly to alleviate the pain as ke lies limp and panting, wishing ke would die already.

Cuina takes a deep shuddering breath, then wails for help. Ke pleads the empty bridge for somebody, anybody, to come. Nobody replies. The silence creeps into Cuina's feathers, chilling ker as ke sobs weakly. When the pain fades to a bearable level, ke staggers onto kis feet and inspects kis soul.

The spherical soul, once a sleek lovely black, has become corrupted and bubbles a sickly shade of brownish-red, the color of the stain Frisk left when she walked over Tonton's nice carpet with a gash on her foot. Cuina cries in despair. Ke can feel power in kis feathers. Ke tries to speak a green word to fix kis soul, but the word twists in kis beak and stabs into the soul, shattering it. Ke screams. The world ends.

_In the beginning, there was chaos._ Cuina stares out at the infinite Milky Ways, all under kis control. _And the chaos said_-

"Help me!" Cuina warbles to the void. "I- I want this to end! I want my friends back! I want-"

_Chaos wants. Chaos lusts. But chaos can never truly gain what it desires_. "I want Tonton back!!" Cuina cries.

Ke searches for a single timeline amidst the infinite spread. Ke searches desperately for one where Tonton lives and loves ker. Ke needs him to love ker.

Cuina spots a single point in time and space. Ke dives for it, and it opens wide to allow ker entrance.

Tonton blinks blearily at ker in the dim light of their shared bedroom in a starship. "Dearest," He starts, but Cuina rushes to him and wraps him in kis wings.

"I missed you!" Ke wails.

"I don't understand, you've been here this whole time, darling. Are you alright?" Tonton asks with delicate concern.

"Y-yes," Cuina's feathers ruffle guiltily. But ke did what ke had to.

"Good, then." Tonton leans back against the pile of fluffy pillows, then his eyes become guarded and cautious. "You look- different."

Cuina looks down at kerself. Ke's turned the color of kis soul, the color of dried adani blood. Ke lets out a croon of despairing disappointment, then lies, "I- I dyed my feathers."

"It doesn't suit you, darling." Tonton says. Cuina flinches, covering kis head with kis wings, afraid he remembers something. "But you know I'll always love you anyway."

"Yes!! I'll love you always too!" _Always and forever._

"But anyway, what do you think?"

"About- about what?" Cuina asks, confused.

"Were you not listening?" Tonton tuts. "Queen Undyne has decided to send our ship to the Quasar Aggelos to make an alliance."

Cuina hisses at the mention of the Aggelos. "No!" Ke screeches. Tonton isn't safe here. Ke yanks out kis soul and shatters it.

Infinity spreads out before ker once again. Ke hears distant screaming, but whether furious or agonized ke's not sure. Ke ignores it and dives into another seemingly promising timeline.

Tonton staggers and Cuina steadies him with a wing, then glares at Lilith. If Lilith hadn't suggested forming a democracy, Tonton would never have been placed into the position of President.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!" Lilith screeches, stomping her foot on the metal floor of the starship's bridge. "_ARGH_, WHERE'S THAT FUCKER BRACKEN?? WHEN ARE WE, ANYWAY?? TONTON, REPORT!!"

"We're in the midst of a battle with the Aggelos, currently." Tonton says calmly.

Cuina squawks angrily, yanks out kis soul, and shatters it. Lilith shouts in alarm. Infinity spreads out. The screaming becomes louder and more pronounced. "Shut up!" Cuina squawks furiously. "I want to save Tonton!"

Ke searches the timelines for a safe one. Amidst all the infinite possibilities, though, there's striking absences. Cuina can't go back farther than a certain point. And ke can't go forward until another certain point. Ke isn't sure why the points are what they are, but there's other absences too. None of them contain Dyno's former wife. None of them contain any children between Cuina and Tonton. Cuina screeches furiously.

Ke spends hours, maybe days, maybe _weeks_ searching through each timeline for a point where ke can save Tonton from the Aggelos. The screaming becomes ever louder and louder, frustrated fury evident in the tone and timbre.

"What is it??" Cuina finally turns and faces the source of the angry screams.

"Stop!!" A puny dragon, who's the same color of dried blood as Cuina, shouts from inside a shimmering cage. "Whatever you're doing, stop it!! You're going to tear us apart!!" They're bound by webs that corrode at their mostly-golden soul.

"I don't care about you!" Cuina squawks. "I care about Tonton!" Ke notices the three other people in the cage. A snake-like lifeform curls in the corner, dry heaving. Lilith screams furiously, struggling against the glittering webs slowly tearing her soul apart. And little Ross wails for his mama. A spear of guilt stabs through Cuina's corrupted soul.

"Please-" The dragon begs. "Stop! Y-you can't keep him safe always. It- it's not healthy to try to smother people like that, and you'll end up losing him due to your own selfish desires to keep him with you!"

Cuina glares at them. Ke could kill them and never have to hear their stupid words again. The wrath in kis soul begs to shatter their soul. "One reason." Ke warbles. "Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you and keep trying to save Tonton."

"H-heh. What are you, his god??" The dragon sneers despite their obvious agony. "You- you can't save _anybody_."

Cuina shouts and lashes out at the dragon, who yelps and cowers. But the dark word strikes Lilith, who had ripped free of her restraints with just enough time to take the blow. Her ribs shatter under the force.

The dragon screams, an agonizingly wrathful sound. The webs trapping them fizzle away as though burned. They grab Lilith and hold her close, glaring at Cuina with dark wrath glowing in their eyes, their soul sparkling pure gold. "_No_." They snarl, and the word comes out the colors of a vein-gilded oak leaf. Lilith gasps for air, her ribs knitting together.

Relieved that Lilith didn't die, Cuina opens kis beak to kill the dragon, then hesitates. The dragon pats Ross's head and the webs binding the child fall away. Then the dragon pokes the snake-like creature, releasing him as well. They turn and set Lilith gently on the ground, then step through the wall of their cage. Golden tendrils blaze through their scales and wings, and they draw an obsidian haladie. "St-stay back, dragon!" Cuina cries, deciding to spare them if they obey. Ke doesn't have time for this.

"I am _Ryuk_." They growl. "You have all the time in the world... _Give it back_!" Ryuk roars and charges.


	34. The Love That I Hate

Infinite possibilities stretch around Cuina, bound to ker by bloody webs. The timeless void echoes coldly with kis screech. Your talons clench around your haladie, which had materialized in your paw with a simple wish. You've said enough. You leap, your wings flaring wide. Cuina spits a hateful word, but you twist and slash through the dart. It shatters and falls into the nothingness below.

Cuina hops backwards as you dive for ker. Ke squawks, "Wait, stop!" You slash out at Cuina. Ke cowers, kis wings covering kis head, and ke cries another desperate word. It slams into you.

You stagger back and your tail whips around to steady yourself as you fold your wings in. Charging at Cuina, you feint with one blade. Cuina screeches in terror and moves to block it with kis wing. Your haladie spins in your hand, darting around kis wing and diving into kis breast. Ke screams. You twist the wavy blade and jerk it out. White viscous viscera spills out.

Ke staggers back and presses a wing-claw to the wound. You stalk forward. Cuina hisses a word which sears through your wings as you yelp. You clench your fists, gritting your teeth against the pain. Kis wound sews itself back together, and ke draws a thick metal staff from the void, twirling it in kis wing-claws.

You leap forward in a feint. Ke strikes, slamming the staff down where ke thinks you'll be. But your wings flare out to reverse your direction as you hop back, then you grab onto the staff and yank Cuina off-balance. Your haladie slashes across kis neck.

Kis cry gurgles in kis throat. You stare the ivren down, determination wrapping your soul with steel. The infinite possibilities dwindle, starting to leak away from the wounds. Cuina wails desperately and attempts to flee. You leap at ker and pin kis wing with your haladie, then bury your teeth in kis throat, visceral bloodlust hazing red over your eyes, determination pumping _boom-boom-boom_ through your body.

"RYUK!!" A cry stabs through the fog of war around your soul. You release the ivren and back away, ducking your head and not looking back at Lilith.

Cuina moans in pain as kis wounds regenerate. You kick kis staff away, a meaningless gesture since the void will allow ker to form another. "Give up." You snarl. "Take us back."

Cuina struggles onto kis feet, glaring at you. "I don't know how." Ke grits out.

The haladie trembles in your fist. "Ryuk!" Lilith cries again. "Don't Kill Ker!"

"Why not??" You growl, the exhilaration of battle arousing powerful determination. The feeling used to be unfamiliar, unimaginable even. But now- _ohh_, now it's absolutely euphoric.

"Because Ke's The Only One Who Can Get Us Out Of Here!" Lilith snaps.

You stagger back from Cuina, coming to your senses. "O-oh, right. Heh- uh, sorry."

Cuina clicks kis beak with a menacing purr. "You can't kill me. But I can kill you."

"Really? Cause you haven't been doing a good job at that." You snipe. "Maybe you should just take us back like a good bastard birdy."

"Or I can kill your friends!" Cuina screeches. "Maybe I start with Lilit!"

"Nope!" You crow, flaring your wings wide and spinning your haladie in your talons. "Not going to happen."

Cuina spins and leaps into the air, flying to grasp a timeline. You let ker go, then stumble as the world reforms around you. Lilith steadies you with an arm. You frown. "When are we?"

"I don't know." She stomps out of the bare room. You follow her into what seems to be a greenhouse, stars sparkling through the glass strips circling the cylindrical area. Many sedryn glance up at you from their gardening, but none confront you or Lilith as both stride past. Tonton lounges on a throne at the end of this section of the station. "Darling, I hope you're not going to beg for leniency, again." He states in a hard voice as Lilith approaches him. You bite back a snarky retort.

"I Don't Beg, Tonton."

"That's King Mettaton." Tonton corrects with a sneer. You notice Cuina behind Tonton's throne and start forward with a growl. Lilith blocks you with an arm. Tonton waves a lazy commanding hand. "Dearest Cuina, remove this filth from my sight."

"As you wish, King." Cuina purrs and leaps over the throne.

You snarl, "Can I please-"

"No, Ryuk." Lilith scolds. "If You Kill Ker Here, Ke'll Just Take Us Back To The Void. We Can Handle Whatever Timeline This Is."

"Fine." You grumble. Cuina clicks kis beak smugly.

"Captain Ryuk, not you, darling." Tonton interrupts as Cuina starts to lead both you and Lilith away. "You're going to set an example." He grins with a metallic whir. "All my subjects will see what I do to mutineers."

Lilith stops in her tracks and spins. "Don't Touch Them." She growls.

"Ohhh, do you really want to face me~?" Tonton purrs. "After seeing what I did to your brother, too?"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO SANS??" Lilith starts for him. "RYUK!! I'LL KEEP TONTON OFF YOUR BACK!"

"Sure thing." You grin and leap at Cuina, who screeches in terror and pain as your haladie drives home in kis back.

Then you're back in the void and Cuina trembles as ke staggers to kis feet. "Y-you idiots!" Ke wails. "That was a safe timeline!"

"Bring us back to when we were!" 

"Never!" Cuina cries. "It's not safe!"

"Nothing's fucking safe!!" You snap. "You can't keep Tonton wrapped in bubbles his whole life!!"

Cuina glares at you with hatred in kis eyes and ke spits a vitriolic word. You grit your teeth as it binds around you with fiery wires.

"**Cease Your Foolish Fighting.**" A heavy voice rumbles through the void. Cuina ducks kis head and releases you. You stumble to your knees, then rise and charge at ker with an angry cry.

"**I SAID _CEASE_!**" A force knocks you back, your haladie flies from your grip, and invisible weights pin your wings. You growl and spin to glare at the source of the voice, then wince as their brightness nearly blinds you. Fear trickles down your neck, dousing your former aggression.

Lilith picks Ross up and grabs Luon by the arm, dragging both over to you. She kneels and her gloved hands press against your scales, deftly inspecting you for injuries. Then she stands up and faces whatever came to put an end to the fight. "We Just Want To Go Back, Can You Please Stop Cuina From Ruining Everything?"

"**I See You Pitiful Fools Are Too Weak-Minded To Control Such A Power Now That It Has Evolved Beyond You.**" The voice says. "**No More. This Experiment Is A Failure. But We Will Allow You All To Return To Your Time Before We End The Tests.**"

"Who Are You??" Lilith inquires.

The voice replies, "**I Suppose Your Inferior Intelligence Might Be Able To Comprehend It This Way: We Are Your Gods.**"

A shiver chills your spine and you bite your tongue, afraid to piss the powerful aggelos off with a retort. Because they _are_ an aggelos, but they're not at all like the weak ones you killed in Zest's ship.

"I See." Lilith says in a guarded tone. "Thank You For Sending Us Back. Will You Assist Us In Fighting Off Our Invaders?"

The aggelos laughs, as bright as rapids boiling over sharp rocks. "**We Will Grant Your Fleet Protection.**"

"Wonderful." 

"**But In Return, Your Fleet Will Be Our- Hm. Our _Prophets_. The Heralds To Our Sweet Lovely Galaxy, Working Under The Instruction Of Your Gods.**" These are the ones that Zest's group planned to attack. A sensation of helplessness clenches around your soul. It sounds like a good enough deal, but there's always a catch. And this one's catch is blatant: subjugation to egotistical maniacs who don't give a fuck about anybody's wellbeing unless it serves their purpose.

"I Accept."

"**Cute.**" The aggelos chuckles. "**You Thought You Had A Choice In The Matter.**" The aggelos focuses all the weight of its attention on you. "**You.**"

"I'm _Ryuk_."

"**You Are A Troublesome One, Aren't You, Star-Slayer.**" The aggelos muses. "**You, Who Killed Our Kind, And Yet Still Live.**"

"Leave Them Alone." Lilith snaps, comforting you with her hand on your scaly neck. You fight in vain against the aggelos's restraints.

"**Displays Of Petty Rebellion Will Be Ignored, To A Point.**" The aggelos warns.

"Pathetic Moron." Lilith throws her hand out and grasps a talwar from the void, stepping between you and the aggelos. "You May Think You're A God, But What Is _God_ To An Atheist!!" 

* * *

The blinding star blazes brighter. Ryuk struggles against their restraints. "Wait!" They try to reach for her. "It'll kill you!!"

"Then I Die." Her talwar remains steady in her hands as she faces the aggelos, righteous anger pounding in her bones. She's tired of being played with. She won't let Ryuk be hurt again.

"Bitch, if you do, you can't fix anything!" Ryuk snarls. "So don't you dare die!"

Lilith falters, her talwar shuddering as her grip tightens. "Yes, Ryuk. I Won't." The aggelos just watches, unreadable and menacing. "But I Refuse To Let You Die, Either." She starts forward with a snarl- she can't move, pinned to the spot by an invisible force.

"**Your Defiance Is Admirable, Albeit Foolish. I Will Dismiss The Crimes Of Your Mate This Once.**" The aggelos rumbles. "**Now, _Leave My Presence_.**"

The sharp words shatter the void. Lilith startles awake on the bridge of the _Liltha_, her officers surrounding her. All of them look disoriented and confused, like everyone's woken from a vivid dream. "Wh-what the _fuck_??" Suzy cries.

Tears well in Lilith's sockets and a pained smile curves her jaws. "THEY- THEY SENT US BACK!" She cries, sobs rising uncontrollably in her ribcage to make her shoulders tremble. The wormhole closes behind the fleet of Aggelos ships, which surround the Gil-Mista fleet.

"Excuse my language, but I must agree with Suzy, _what the fuck_ happened, sir??" Se'Vir's feathers ruffle. "How- how are we back _here_, after so long?? Who are you talking about??" 

Lilith presses a hand to her head to hide her tears and looks to Esther for support, but the Lieutenant-Commander shakes her head, dark disapproval in her eyes and in the stern lines of her pursed lips. Lilith tries to remember if Esther heard about her plan to have Frisk reset. "Look," Lilith sheepishly rubs at her damp sockets. "I May Have Made A Mistake."

"What kind of _mistake_ fucks up _time_??" Suzy's tail lashes with anger. "I was _married_!! I had a kid!! Are you fucking telling me they're _gone_??"

Lilith winces and grips her temples, pretending she has a migraine to avoid facing her officers' anger. "I Didn't Mean For This To Happen!!"

"What _did_ happen??"

"I'm Not Sure!!" Lilith sighs, thoughts turning to Ryuk, and she grits her teeth, dropping her hand as she hangs her head. Consequences have finally caught up with her in the worst way possible. "I- I'll Explain As Best I Can, Though."

* * *

MK leaps to his feet off the comfortable couch, confused and disoriented. "Y-yo, Luon." He says to his boyfriend, who'd been sleeping next to him. "I- I had the weirdest dream, haha, it- it feels so _real_."

Luon groans and coils onto his tail. "It _was_ real."

"What??" MK laughs, panic gripping his soul in a vise. "Yo, how'd we get back to- to _now_, then??"

"It's complicated, but an Aggelos did this. I'm not entirely sure, but I got the gist that there's more than one group of Aggelos, and they're at war with each other." Luon says. "Disturbing, to be sure, but they also mentioned that the time loops were an experiment of theirs, and that they're going to end it, so I don't think we need to worry about any more time nonsense."

"Yo, we were being invaded by Aggelos!!"

"My home was invaded as well." Luon says, stretching his arms before resting one over MK's shoulders. "We're not in the clear yet, since the Aggelos remember. We should go assist Lilith."

"This is all her fault, yo. Her and Bracken and _Frisk_." MK glowers at the years-old memory, which technically took place only days ago. "But yo, fine, let's go help her."

MK and Luon head to the bridge. MK notices everyone they pass seems disoriented as well. "Yo, you think _everyone_ remembers?"

"It seems that way." Luon says.

MK storms into the bridge. Lilith sits on her chair, hands clenched, as a holographic channel relays an aggelos's smugly bright appearance and horrid staticky language. MK sees Se'Vir and Suzy trying to parse the words. Nobody seems happy at all, and some of the officers-- Suzy and Esther in particular-- keep shooting angry glances at Lilith.

"Yo, what the fuck!!" MK shouts, startling Lilith into flinching. "Dude, I fucking warned you!!"

"I- Yes- I'm Sorry. You Can Yell At Me." Lilith stammers, not meeting MK's glare. "But We Need To Get Away From These Aggelos First. Someone Will Be Assisting Us."

MK crosses his arms and scowls at her. "Fine, yo, but we are having _words_ later."

Lilith winces, smiling ruefully. "Understood."

"Yo, how are we supposed to beat them??" MK gestures to the hundreds of battlecruisers.

"We can't." Lilith says, sounding resigned. "But a different sect promised to protect us from them in return for our loyal servitude."

MK shivers with rage. "And you went along with that??"

"What Else Was I Supposed To Do??" Lilith cries. "We've Always Been Subjugated To Our Respective Empires, So How Is This Any Different??"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because none of us _agreed_ to this!!" MK spins to stomp out, too angry to talk to her. "Whatever, yo." He can't really be surprised, and he realizes that it was probably Lilith's only choice, but he's still pissed at her. Later, when he's calmed down and thought things through, he won't be so mad.

"If- If you see Ryuk-" Lilith starts, then hesitates.

"I'll tell them to scold you." MK replies, then strides out of the bridge, leaving Luon to help or whatever. He goes to sick bay, planning to dive into medical reports to calm himself down, since he still shakes with anger.

Upon sliding open the door to sick bay, MK stops short. "Yo, uh. You, uh, look different."

Ryuk glowers at him with a dull hopeless look in their eyes as they lay on one of the sick bay beds. "Yeah??"

"Why-"

"Because _fuck Aggelos_, that's why." Ryuk snaps, their voice raw and thick with unshed tears. MK frowns in sympathy.

"Yo, being adani isn't _all_ bad, I'm sure. Adani are cool, and- uh-" He stops when they clench their fists in the sheets. "Oh. Shit, yo, Ryuk, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

"_Fuck you_." They snarl and try to bare their teeth as tears start to roll down their smooth cheeks. "Leave me alone."

"Uh, yo, maybe Luon can make you a glamour?" MK offers weakly.

"Ha!" Ryuk laughs, a sharp bitter bark. "Glamours don't work on adani-" They cut themself off as though they were about to tack an insult on but thought better of it. Their head drops to their chest. "Just- just go away."

"Okay, yo, but if you need anything," MK scratches his head, "you, uh, know where to find me."

"Yup." They say in a lifeless tone. "Thanks."

MK sighs and trudges into his office to sit down and fill out paperwork. The two timelines-worth of memories both clash chaotically in his mind, unable to be sorted properly into place. He wishes time travelers would invent a new tense or something, anything to make describing the experience easier.

* * *

Bracken stammers incoherently as he tries again and again and again to grasp time, yet every single time it slips from his reach. He's back in the cold expanse of space, trapped in this idiotic metal death trap. Frisk squeals as she stares out the transparent metal at the stars and the huge Aggelos battlecruisers. Chara sighs and leans on the arm of Bracken's seat. "We remember. How did we go _forward_ in time??" They say. "This shouldn't happen."

"Hahaha," Bracken laughs loud enough to cover the thump-thump-thump of his panicking soul. "Sure, idiot, it _shouldn't_, but it did!"

"Was this your plan?" Chara smirks as though they already know the answer.

"Ha ha." Bracken retorts. "Of course it wasn't, idiot, my plan was way better than this!!"

"Hehe, dummy, you didn't even have a plan." Frisk giggles, then sighs, gazing out the viewport. "I love space."

Bracken stares at her. "Golly, Frisk, you kept your mind. Well, most of it."

"Dumbass." She flips him off. "I'm used to time travel, remember?"

"So am I!" Bracken snaps. "Just not- not _forward_ time travel."

"Hehe, we should find Tonton and make him therapize you!" Frisk squeals, clapping her hands. Bracken gives her a suspicious glare.

"Frisk, you don't have to force yourself to be cute with us." Chara says. "The real you is cuter than any theatrics you put on."

Frisk's cheeks darken with a blush. "Y-yeah, I know that. Dio told me that, too."

Bracken is pretty sure Dio was Frisk's therapist in the timeline they just abandoned. He sighs and rubs his stomach. "Gee, I'm liking this lovey-dovey aura in the air but, seriously, get me dinner first."

Frisk bleps at him and Chara lightly bats his head. "Sure." Chara grabs his hand and drags him out of the lounge. Frisk slips her hand into Chara's free one and swings it as the trio strolls through the ship to the mess hall.

* * *

Sans trembles on his bed as the memories of two conflicting timelines surge through his soul, unable to be resolved. He remembers being pissed with Papyrus only a few days ago. He remembers locking Lilith in Cuina's runabout only a few days ago. Sans struggles to sort the data streaming through his mind.

Papyrus is his brother. Lilith is his sister. The two are the same person, but which one does Sans need to protect?? The two pasts feel sharp yet vague, like an image that's been pixelated just enough to make the details unclear but not enough to change the big picture.

He shortcuts to the teleportation array. He can't shortcut between two different starships for physics reasons, so he uses the teleporter to get to the _Liltha_. Once there, he shortcuts to the bridge.

Papyrus doesn't even glance at him, too busy ordering her- his fleet around. Sans sits down in his chair and watches him with a wide grin on his face. _Stars_, Paps is so cool.

He notices the tension in the room a moment later, and his grin stiffens, starting to fade. Paps's officers seem resentful and begrudging as they follow the orders. Additionally, there's hundreds of Aggelos battlecruisers enveloping the smaller Gil-Mista fleet. Oh. Right. He nearly forgot about those bastards with all the turmoil over his bro's gender.

"Ah, Sans!" Papyrus says as he spins around. He's wearing a lehenga choli without any dupatta; the flared skirt reaches the toes of his high-heeled boots, and the black choli covers only his ribcage, leaving his lower spine and the tips of his iliac crests bare. Sans glares at the traditionally feminine clothing, blocking out the memory of his vivid dream.

"heya, bro." Sans mutters. Papyrus doesn't flinch as expected, instead her- his gaze turns cold and hard. "what??" Sans gets the distinct feeling he's just fucked up.

"CALL ME SISTER OR GET OFF MY BRIDGE. I KNOW YOU REMEMBER, SANS, DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME."

"oh." Sans slouches into the chair. The other officers shoot glares at him. "fine. sorry, uh, sis."

"Better." Lilith preens the beloved, red scarf. Heh. Mom always liked wearing that scarf, too, before she died.

"so, it wasn't a dream?"

"Correct. We're currently taking an escape route to escape the Dai'zhe. And I'm still pissed at you." Paps- Lilith stomps her foot.

"is this because i had cuina take you to safety?" Sans asks. "because that-"

"You Had Cuina _Kidnap_ Me! That Was Totally Unjustified!" Lilith cuts him off. "You Don't Trust Me To Take Care Of Myself!!"

Sans shrugs. "you died. what was i supposed to do, let you die again??"

Lilith grumbles incoherently, but Sans gets the gist anyway. He sighs and gets up to leave, seeing that he's not welcome. "I'LL FORGIVE YOU TOMORROW!" Lilith snaps. "BUT NO HUGS FOR A WHOLE MONTH!"

"oh." Sans scratches his skull, and an uncomfortable feeling of guilt wriggles into his ribcage. "that pissed, huh?"

"Yes!!" Lilith stomps her foot and then turns back to her officers.

Sans shrugs again. Lil will crack sooner or later and relent to hugging him eventually. He takes a shortcut off the bridge and decides to take a nap.

* * *

Undyne cradles Ross in her arms as she relays Lilith's orders to her section of the fleet. He's content to cuddle against her chest. Someone, or something, hurt his soul badly. Whoever did it will pay dearly.

She's not particularly bothered by the two streams of time in her memory. She doesn't have to think about it too hard, since everyone else remembers too. Most everything makes sense now. She's going to freaking thrash Lilith-- oh, and Ryuk, too-- for endangering Ross's life. But for now, she has to focus on helping Lilith get the fleet out of immediate danger.

Whoever had promised to protect the Gil-Mista fleet has been keeping their word. The Aggelos don't even notice as the Gil-Mista weave through the maze of battlecruisers to open space. Undyne orders her ship, the _Heryn_, to leap into warp alongside the rest of the fleet.

They're free, finally. The only price is to serve a new empire. Fuhuhu, Undyne doesn't care, as long as Ross is safe.

* * *

Elysium reaches out with her senses to the millions of Quasar Aggelos residing in her galaxy. Each feels the brush of her consciousness against theirs. Each awakens, flaring hot ice-blues and whites with excitement._ God Is Dead. Long Live God._

The former God had been pathetically easy to destroy. Kis dusty supernova still hangs in space, a grim warning of Elysium's power. The game of getting close to the former God had been the entertainingly risky part. Then, when ke bared kis being to her, she struck. Elysium shares the story with her subordinates.

One subordinate, Roc, shares a story of his own. He had been experimenting on the lesser lifeforms. One experiment tested the responses of determined individuals who were given power over time, but that experiment got out of control when the time power altered due to an unknown factor. Roc ended the experiment and sent the galaxy back to the farthest point in the future it had ever reached.

Elysium brightens in amusement at the story. Lesser lifeforms can't be trusted to know what's best for them, so Roc was well within his rights to experiment on them and then end the experiment when it no longer suited his purpose. Elysium remembers her chosen sister, Juno, who had been obsessed with the inferior creatures, and even made one of her own. She searches for the dim light of Juno, who'd never been strong physically or magically ever since being freed from the Dai'zhe's ranks.

She senses Juno's dust resting at a certain point in time. Her sister was murdered. Elysium freezes with rage. She inspects the time-point and sees Juno's own creation rebelling against her.

She has other things to take care of at the moment, like the Dai'zhe's foolish invasion, but she will never forgive and she will never forget this atrocity. Aggelos can hold grudges for an incredibly long time. And Elysium can think of many fates worse than death.


	35. Growing

Hiding in your old maintenance closet, you let out a frustrated angry growl. The sound vibrates in the back of your throat. If you close your eyes, you can almost sense the shape of your body as it should be, lithe and muscular and- and _right_. Hot tears leak from your eyes. Sure, this body is attractive enough and maybe shaped more conveniently, but it's also a chain around your soul, a cage that you can't escape.

Light slips into the room as the door hums open. You ignore whoever came in, hoping they just take what they need and leave. Talons click on the metal, then a heavy, soft weight flops behind you. They start to weep, and you recognize the cries as Cuina's. Anger darkens your vision. "F-fuck off." Your voice trembles.

"_Ka_, Tonton hates me!" Cuina beats the floor with kis wings as ke wails.

"Duh." You fold your arms tightly around your knees and hide your head in an elbow. "I hate you too. It's all your fault."

"I just wanted him to be safe!" Cuina cries. "But I lost him."

You growl again, your eyes and fists clenched. "Yep."

"Why does he hate me?? What did I do wrong??"

"Do you really wanna know??" Lifting your head, you glare at ker over your shoulder.

Cuina freezes and cocks kis head, staring at you as though ke only just noticed your presence. "Y-you killed me." Ke whimpers and backs away. "It hurt."

"Death hurts." You sneer, unsympathetic to kis pain despite having been through the same pain many times yourself. "So does life. Get over it."

"I- I just-" Ke stops. You wait for ker to continue, but ke just stammers, not making any sense.

"Look." You say, trying to find some shred of sympathy in the vitriolic sea washing through your soul, but coming up empty. "You did a bad thing. But- uh, well, so have I. So has Lilith. I'm sure even Tonton has done things he regrets. But we've apologized for the bad things we've done, and we worked to change and make up for it. So far, though? You don't seem to even regret your mistakes."

Cuina wails into kis wings. "I do!!"

"Okay. Then make up for it."

"How?"

"Dunno." You shrug, refusing to be _that_ nice.

"Thank you." Cuina warbles, getting up and starting for the door.

"Don't fucking thank me." Cuina leaves, apparently not hearing the bitterly muttered words.

Much later, somebody knocks on the door. You grunt a lifeless "Fuck off." But they come in anyway.

"Ryuk?" Lilith says gently.

Your teeth grind together, desperate to stop your foolish mouth from spitting anything hurtful at her. Your eyes itch, dry and puffy from all the crying. "What."

"I'll Fix This." She says.

"How??" You spin and rise to your feet, flaring your arms wide in a frustrated gesture-- if only they were wings. "The Aggelos took it back, Lil, they _stole_ it and it's all- and-" You bite your tongue to halt the accusations. It's not really her fault. "N-nobody can fix me." You wilt, hugging one arm to your chest. "I- I'm not supposed to be- _this_."

"You're Supposed To Be A Dragon." Lilith says. "I Know. You Seemed Freer That Way." 

"Y-yeah, but-" You trail off, hiccuping on a sob.

"But We'll Make The Aggelos Give It Back." Lilith steps closer, offering her hand. 

"You can't _make_ them do anything." You grumble, but take her hand anyway, just to feel the comfort of her firm grip and the smooth leather of her gloves. She pulls you gently into a hug, giving you enough space to back out of it if you wanted. You cling to her, shaking as you cry into her scarf. "It's not fair!"

"No, it's not." Lilith traces circles on your back, around your shoulder blades, under where your wings should be. "You should be a dragon."

"Y-yeah!" You can't help but revel in the warm embrace and warmer words. You snuggle her, pecking her ivory cheekbone. That might be the one good thing about adani bodies, they have soft lips for kissing. "Love you, Lil." 

"Ryuk," Lilith says with a stern sad sort of smile, and you wince, knowing already what she's going to say. "Do I need to clarify why that is a bad idea?"

"N-no," You mumble. "But I missed you."

"I missed you, too, but I'm not going to take advantage of you again." She pats your head. "We'll find a way to make you a dragon again."

"Yeah?" You smile weakly. "Thanks, Lilith." The warm floofiness in your soul pleads to kiss her again, but you resist. She's right. It wouldn't be smart.

"Until then! We are holding a strictly professional relationship!" Lilith releases you from the embrace and steps back. You pout at her. "Nyeh, but once we're both in better states, and if you still want to, I think I would welcome a kiss."

You don't bring up her earlier statement that both you and she should stay apart for a few months. You're hoping she forgot amidst all the chaos. She turns to leave.

As soon as she's gone, despair pools in your soul once more. There's no way the Aggelos will ever agree. Lilith can't keep her promise. But if you go to the Aggelos yourself and _force_ them to make you a dragon, then Lilith won't have to.

* * *

Tonton paces in his room as Lilith broadcasts her confession and explanation of the events that threw everyone into this confusing mess of a situation. He can hardly blame poor Cuina for the initial time jump. In a way, since that erased Cuina's memories and left ker with only an attachment to Tonton, everything Cuina did after that was Lilith's fault. Anger stirs in his soul.

He refuses to bow to the Aggelos. As the entire galaxy is under the thumb of the Quasar, then he'll break that thumb. He'll save his people.

His job of counseling provides an _excellent_ place to tease at and unravel the starmas' resentment. Lieutenant Suzy turns out to be the first to demand aloud what he'd been thinking. "Don't tell the admiral, but- but I want to start a mutiny!" Her tail lashes with fury. "She fucked us all over, and I'm _done_ serving under her!"

"Darling, that is understandable." Tonton purrs. "I know a few others who might be interested, as well."

The mutiny doesn't happen for a few weeks. Tonton allows Lilith to think she has control over the fleet. He allows her to think that her starmas and officers have mostly forgiven her, that they're _loyal_ to her. Frisk does the necessary work of keeping Bracken's attention elsewhere so that he doesn't find out and tell Lilith. MK and Luon transfer to the _Alaco,_ and Commodore MK starts taking more liberties, taking more control.

The fleet's new dictators haven't contacted Lilith yet about the supposed mission. Tonton would prefer to strike _before_ that happens. So, exactly three weeks from the timeline-convergence, ten ships peacefully split off from the Gil-Mista fleet, led by Tonton and MK. Tonton will let MK take this fleet, named the_ Implosion_, while he incites rebellions throughout the galaxy and leads the revolution against the Quasar. He grins, sitting back on his chair on the bridge of the _Westerly_.

No more. He refused to be subjected to tyranny any longer, and he refuses to allow others to suffer under despots, either. As Lilith attempts to open a channel, Suzy looks back to Tonton, anger in her eyes. "Should I?"

"Go ahead, darling." Tonton smirks.

The bridge of the _Liltha_ shows up on a screen. Lilith scowls at Tonton. "THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING??"

"Do you really need to know?" Tonton leans back and stretches a leg in the air.

"YES, THIS IS MY FLEET, YOU CAN'T JUST-"

"I'm afraid these starmas have made their decision, darling." Tonton swooshes his hair back, smiling at Lilith with condescension in his eyes. "They all decided they don't want to follow a liar and a fool." He notes her guilty flinch with a glint of vindictive pleasure.

"I- I See." Lilith scowls and crosses her arms. "Very Well. I Won't Stop You."

She _can't_ stop him, but Tonton is too classy to correct her on that minor detail. He nods to Suzy, who cuts off the channel. "Well, then." Tonton says, a sadistically pleased gleam in his eyes. "Shall we be off?"

"Yes, sir!" Suzy salutes.

"No need for that, darling. We're through with oppressive protocols."

* * *

Lilith stares out the viewport as ten ships alter direction and fall away, leaving the Gil-Mista fleet with only three. A sinking feeling trickles into her spine. She doesn't know what to do. It's a relatively new feeling. She's always been able to do _something_ to keep herself preoccupied.

She sighs and turns away. It doesn't matter what Tonton does. As long as he stays away from the Aggelos, him and his mutinous fleet should be safe. She hopes they stay safe. A sharp pain enters her soul, familiar knives of guilt and worry shredding her self-worth. This is all her fault.

Lilith clenches her fists, trying to reassure herself that Tonton will keep her people safe. He's always been a good leader, he wouldn't do anything foolish like try to rebel against the Aggelos- or would he? She decides to not think about the possibility, since it causes too much pain to think of all her starmas and officers-- including Suzy, MK, Luon, and even Frisk-- perishing in agony.

Esther and Se'Vir never look at her or speak to her, except to salute when given an order. The shunning stings. She wonders if they would have gone with Tonton if given the chance. The bridge officers who were promoted due to a shortage of personnel on the _Liltha_\-- and _wowie_, she really should have seen the mutiny coming based on that alone-- ignore her as well, talking only amidst themselves.

Ryuk comes onto the bridge occasionally. They usually manage to bleed some of the tension from the air. But, of course, not today. Nothing can ease the tension caused by the peaceful mutiny. "Hey, queen." Ryuk pats Lilith's shoulder. They've been trying their best to fulfill their role as chief of morale, but they can only do so much, and Lilith has always had a bad reputation among her starmas. Her officers used to be the few who appreciated her. Not anymore.

"Thank you, Ryuk." Lilith says, taking the cup of coffee they hand her. She takes a sip. Strong, no cream, and thirteen sugars, just the way she likes it.

"MK told me yesterday." Ryuk says nonchalantly. "I agreed to keep it a secret. He, uh, didn't let me join, though."

Lilith carefully doesn't choke on her sip of coffee. She swallows. "Oh. _Wonderful_."

"I hate the Aggelos, Lil, and I hate that we're basically working for them now. All of us do."

"What Was I Supposed To Do??" Lilith snaps, setting her coffee down on the arm of her chair so that she doesn't spill it.

"I'm not blaming you." 

"Why Not? Everyone Else Does." Lilith sighs and hides her head in a hand, aware that Esther and her other officers are shooting disapproving glances at both her and Ryuk. She could really use a hug, but she's still pissed at Sans and she's supposed to be keeping Ryuk at a professional distance.

"Because it's not _all_ your fault, queen." Ryuk says. "I realized something. None of us ever thought of Bracken resetting, so we never planned for a prevention of that possibility. If you'd known, then sure, it woulda been more your fault, but Bracken's the only one who thought of it, and he didn't tell anyone besides Frisk and Chara."

Lilith realizes with a start that they're sort of right, at least as far as she can remember. She had assumed Bracken wouldn't reset, or that he couldn't since Frisk had taken the reins for so long. "So-"

"So even if you didn't deceive me, even if Frisk had stayed in Andromeda, everything would have been ruined anyway." Ryuk grabs the coffee and gulps it down. "So yeah, I'm not pinning all the blame on you, and besides, you've already apologized and you're trying to do the best you can. This is the fault of Bracken, Cuina, and the Aggelos." They hand the mug back to Lilith. She takes an absent-minded sip, then scowls at Ryuk when she realizes it's nearly empty thanks to them stealing it.

"I'm Glad _Someone_ Sees It That Way," Lilith grumbles, not looking at her officers, who ignore her in return.

Ryuk grins. "Anyways, I'm transferring to Undyne's ship."

"WHAT?? WHY?" Lilith cries, confused and desperate for them to not leave her.

"We both need distance, and it's hard to get that here." Ryuk scratches their neck sheepishly. "And also I hate Cuina and I might kill ker if I see kis stupid whiny beak one more fucking time."

"Wonderful." Lilith lets out a stressed sigh. She's not sure she can handle the disdain of her officers without Ryuk to ease the strain. "When the Aggelos contact us, I'll see what I can do about keeping my promise."

"You better." There's a bitter undertone beneath the lightly spoken words. "Thanks, queen."

Lilith wishes she could hug Ryuk one last time. She watches their back as they spin and stride off the bridge. Her sockets sting with tears, but she forces the grief back to be dealt with later. She can't cry in front of her officers.

"Sir," Esther says, her voice sounding a bit less cold than normal, "Go say your goodbyes properly. You never know. This could be the last time we see them."

The words act as a catalyst, driving Lilith off the bridge and after her friend. "RYUK!!" She calls.

Ryuk stops and wipes their eyes before turning with a forced grin. "Yeah?"

"Please, one hug before you leave?" Lilith taps her fingers together nervously.

Ryuk answers by throwing their arms around her in a tight embrace. "The next time I hug you, I'll be a dragon." They swear, their voice low and intense.

"Nyeh Heh, You Better Be." Lilith relaxes. Usually she's the one who has her arms enveloped around the recipient of the hug. Being on the inside of the hug makes her feel warm and secure, like nothing bad will happen as long as they're holding her.

Ryuk lets go all too soon. They back away and grin at her with wet eyes and a runny nose. "See ya, asshole."

"Farewell, insolent scoundrel." She replies, hot tears burning down her cheekbones. Ryuk hesitates a moment, then lets out a huff of air thick with finality before turning and leaving.

Lilith wipes the tears from her skull, but they just keep coming. She goes to her quarters to clean up so her officers don't see her weakness. A call chimes in the com system, and Lilith answers it. A hologram of an aggelos appears in the middle of her room. The instructions for her first mission have finally been decided.

* * *

This wasn't how Chara pictured breaking up with Frisk. One day Frisk was flirting with them and Bracken as usual, and the next she's flying off with Tonton and MK in the most peaceful mutiny Chara's ever heard of. The absence of their partner leaves Chara feeling confused and wondering if they said something wrong to make Frisk want to abandon them.

Chara turns on a documentary about eukaryotes and gets comfy on the couch as Bracken rants and storms about, furious that Frisk hid the mutiny from him. "Hey, Ree, can you move?" They say when he gets in front of the screen.

"Golly, Frisk _left_ us and all you can think of is your damn movies??" Bracken shrieks. "I bet she's going for MK, that _bastard_!"

"Calm down." Chara grabs his arm and yanks him into the couch beside them, then wraps him in blankets before he can escape. When he still tries to get up again, they sit on him. He relaxes under their weight. "Frisk is free to go wherever they want."

"Gee, I know that, but they're supposed to stay with me!" Bracken's huff prickles on the back of Chara's neck. "Besides, the idiot will probably get herself killed."

Chara rolls their eyes. "She's with Tonton. He'll keep her safe."

Bracken grumbles incoherently. Chara ignores his whining and keeps watching their documentary.

* * *

The orders from the Aggelos stare at Undyne from the screen. Lilith sent them to her as soon as they were received. Undyne grinds her many rows of teeth. _Fuck_ the Aggelos. Here she thought they'd be like a normal empire, like her old empire, and just send her on missions to destroy rebellious upstarts or conquer other worlds. But no. These fuckers have to be weird and sadistic.

She hands Ross to her amazing tactics officer, Lieutenant Marcella, and paces back and forth on the bridge, then stops and snarls, "Tell that freaking bitch we're pulling a Tonton."

Her coms officer, Ensign Gilliga, salutes with a grin. "Verbatim?"

"Fuhu, of freaking course!!" Undyne can't believe Lil actually wants to go along with the creeps. "Like this, '_You freaking bitch, we're pulling a Tonton_'. Wait, no! Use the _other_ eff word!!"

"Yes- uh, I mean, _hai_!" Gilliga replies, correcting hirself just before Undyne can glower at hir. Ze's never seen anime, but Undyne plans on fixing that.

Undyne turns to her chief of morale. "You! Lieutenant Ryuk!"

"Yes, sir?" Ryuk still refuses to salute with _hai_, the fucking killjoy.

"Are you staying with me, or going back to Lilith??"

Ryuk hesitates, eyes flickering to the mission orders sent by the Aggelos. "I- I won't go back."

"You sure, punk?? You're not allowed to back out after this!" Undyne smacks her fist into her hand for emphasis.

They shrug, their smile seeming dull and bitter. "The _Liltha_ holds nothing for me anymore."

Undyne grins. "You better stick to that decision, punk!"

"No fear." Their smile becomes lopsided. "I'm not going back."

* * *

Sans strolls through the empty mural-covered halls of the _Liltha_. Lilith had given an announcement that anyone who wasn't willing to accept her authority could defect with Undyne. Out of the three ships remaining from Tonton's mutiny, two went with Undyne. Additionally, the _Liltha_ now has less than one-hundred personnel on board, practically a skeleton crew in comparison to the usual mid-four-hundreds that the former flagship used to carry.

Shortcutting into Lilith's office, Sans waits for his sister to raise her head off the desk and see him. "heya." He says.

"Oh. Sans." Lilith grumbles. "Why are you still here??"

"what, you didn't think i would leave ya, did ya??"

"I was hoping you did." Lilith stands up with a heavy sigh, her face looking far too weatherbeaten and heavy with stress. "I'm starting to wish we stayed in Andromeda."

"nah, don't say that, sis." Sans says. "we're all alive, ain't we? it's fine, it's just a little experiment, that's all. it's not like the aggelos would be sadistic enough to torture us for fun, right? ya and everyone're gettin' way too worked up about a minor deal."

Lilith scowls and rubs her temples with a hand. "I'm glad Ryuk left." She says, but she sounds sad still. "You should have gone too."

"and abandoned you??"

"YES!!" Lilith cries. "I'M THE ONE WHO MADE THE FUCKING DEAL WITH THE FUCKING AGGELOS, I'M THE ONE WHO SHOULD-" She cuts herself off and hugs her arms across her ribcage, playing with her scarf.

"lil, look, you don't need to beat yerself up just cause you think ya messed up."

"That's Not Why I'm Doing This." Lilith clenches her fists in the scarf.

"then why?" Lilith is the greatest. Sometimes, though, her thinking is too inter-connected, like spaghetti strands. Heh, she can be im-pasta-ble. Sans likes that joke, so he says it aloud.

"Sans, This Is Serious!!" Lilith stomps her foot several times. "It's My Responsibility To Keep My Word."

Sans sighs. "okay, sis. but i ain't abandoning you."

Smirking, Lilith retorts, "I _could_ lock you up and _force_ you onto Undyne's ship."

"sis, c'mon, that was years ago, can't we let by-bones be by-bones?"

"It was a month ago."

"well, yeah, but also-"

"DON'T TRY TO CONFUSE ME WITH TIME-NONSENSE, SANS!!"

Sans shrugs, chuckling. "okay. you want a hug?"

"F-FINE." Lilith comes around her desk. Sans hugs her and wonders if he should shortcut her into a runabout, then send that runabout to Undyne's ship. Heh. Nah, that would be too much work. He'll just have to keep her safe as best he can.


	36. The World You've Created

As soon as MK heard _mutiny_ being passed around the fleet grapevine, he knew he had to get in on it. He told Luon first thing, and Luon agreed to accompany him. Now, he sits on the bridge of the _Alaco_, Luon by his side and his officers awaiting his suggestions.

"Yo, Luon, what's Tonton's next target?"

"The Rexashun system. The Dagnir there are generally a paranoid bunch, so we may have difficulties in getting them to agree to join us."

MK ponders, recalling the delicious taste and texture of the slugs from that system. "Maybe we can trade with them, yo. Lieutenant Ilusion, can you relay our course to the fleet?"

"On it." Ilusion says without saluting. Tonton despises salutes, and most of the starmas are happy to toss protocol out the airlock as well.

It's been a few weeks since the mutiny, and already the Implosion fleet has gained thirty more ships, with eleven systems promising support in the coming battle. Turns out, everybody remembers the time confusion. Alongside that: nobody's happy that the Aggelos were experimenting on them, or that the Aggelos claim to be the gods of the galaxy, or that everyone lost several years of their lives-- as well as family and friends-- thanks to the Aggelos.

Several other fleets have formed to join the rebellion, which Tonton has named the Kamino Owari Revolution-- KOR for short. So far, though, nobody knows what to expect when they do finally encounter the Aggelos shadow-tyrants.

"Yo, Luon, what'd you lose in the-" MK pauses, not sure how to describe the timeline of three years that everyone was stolen from. "I dunno, before the timeline convergence."

"Perhaps it would be easier to create a new tense." Luon pats MK's shoulder. "Since _now_ is this present and _then_ is the past of this timeline, then- hm, _jyn_ is the alternate timeline that we left behind due to the convergence."

"What'd you lose jyn?" MK tests it out.

"The Aggelos removed my magic." Luon says, a hard note entering his voice. "They nullified the extra DT in my soul. But I also lost all the progress I made on a few new inventions." He droops. MK pats his smooth head, knowing how much science means to Luon.

"Yo, we've got a good lab on this ship. I bet I could ask some other systems for some more tech to study, too!"

"That would be delightful, Mil-Gwedh." Luon plants a kiss on MK's nose.

MK blushes, wriggling in his seat with giddy cheer. "I'm so glad you're back, yo."

"I am too. Back jyn, I missed you."

MK smooches Luon in return and then tries to focus on the trade deal he's supposed to be forming with the Rexashun system. Luon leaves to go do science stuff.

The trade deal goes smoothly, adding thirteen more fleets to the KOR and seven more ships to the Implosion fleet. MK's never commanded so many ships all at once. He finds Lilith's old strategy game, Orthor, that she used to play with her captains and commodores, and he starts studying the most recent games to recall the rules. He decides to have his captains and commodores play it as well.

In fact, however, they're not called captains or commodores anymore. Even though MK has the technical authority of an admiral, he's not called that either. Tonton destroyed all protocols, proclaiming effective anarchy. With no centralized hierarchy and the ability to question or disobey orders, everyone is forced to communicate openly on a 'need to share' basis.

Or so the general theory goes, but in practice, it doesn't work quite as smoothly as that. Which is why MK _in theory_ follows the law of anarchy, but in practice demands respect and discipline from his subordinates, and expects them to do the same with their starmas. What Tonton doesn't know won't hurt him.

Due to the destruction and abolition of the old protocols, the Implosion fleet has settled on titles of their own making. MK's position, the equivalent of Admiral, is now known as Star-Comm, short for star commander. The commodores are Wing-Comms. Captains are Ship-Comms. 

Alternative salutes develop as well. Most people grow tired of the lack of discipline without a common salute to tie everyone together, so a new salute is born._ 'On it'_ becomes the de facto verbal salute, while some starma in ops starts the practice of flapping a hand in the air to acknowledge an order.

MK doesn't protest Tonton's supposed desire for anarchy, but he secretly suspects Tonton cares less about the actual theory of anarchy and more about manipulating everyone into loving him so that they'll follow him into the depths of hell.

* * *

Another flicker. Another implosion. Another battlecruiser crumbles in on itself. Zest watches, horrified, as the onslaught continues. Something aroused the attention of the Quasar. And now they're eradicating the Dai'zhe effortlessly. He transmits mental orders to his crew. They agree, terrified of death.

_Lemon_ sneaks away from the extermination, burning on low power, keeping the engines quiet, and not broadcasting any signals. Zest remembers the Gil-Mista fleet, which had cloaking technology. If he'd traded with them instead of treating them as worthless, inferior lifeforms, maybe this would be easier. Regret is a hard needle to accept, but Zest wishes he'd been a bit more tactful in dealing with the less-powerful creatures. He wonders once more whether their lack of power really made them inferior.

Perhaps there's a chance he can seek them out. Perhaps they can help him, if he treats them with respect this time instead of disdain. He orders his crew to leap into warp as soon as they're out of the radius of the Quasars' attack. The Quasar don't notice the single battlecruiser slipping away. Or, if they do, they mercifully ignore it.

* * *

The first mission for the Aggelos was relatively harmless. But the next experiment won't be. The message from Roc still flickers on the screen as Lilith cries into her arms, despairing. She can't keep anyone safe anymore. It would have been better if she'd had everyone stay in Andromeda.

A knock raps on Lilith's office door. "Fuck Off." Lilith sobs, but quickly wipes her cheekbones dry.

Bracken steps inside, eyes dark with fury. "Come here." He's been on a short fuse ever since Chara left with Undyne. Lilith doesn't complain when he takes it out on her through the games of bone-breaking and humiliation. She welcomes the pain.

Lilith rises and obeys. Bracken grips her skull and plants his lips on her teeth. "Wait-" She tries to push him away, but his arm wraps around her and pulls her body flush against his. He's not supposed to kiss her. Platonic, that's all the scenes are supposed to be.

He breaks the kiss, his keen, cold gaze scanning her. Lilith shudders, her bones rattling. "Lil, I need this."

Lilith knows it isn't healthy. Another relationship at this stage in her depression and self-hatred would only make things worse. But she's driven everyone away besides Sans and Bracken, and she misses Ryuk, and she feels like shit constantly, so maybe she needs this just as much as he does. Her answer is to run her fingers through his silky hair and press her jaws to his lips, desperately slipping her tongue into his mouth. "So Do I." 

Bracken grins, the ferocious, hungry look piercing Lilith's core. He slips off his glamoured earrings, revealing his true form. Familiar fear simultaneously chills and heats her bones. "Color." Bracken grabs Lilith's arm with a hand made of writhing vines.

"Orange." Bracken snatches her scarf and ties it around her jaws as a gag. The fear morphs into sharp dread mixed with suicidal longing. She remembers every single time Bracken has used a gag on her. Most resulted in death. She wishes it would this time, but she doubts he'll go that far since he can't reset any longer, and he'll want to keep his favorite toy alive as long as possible.

Bracken steps back and inspects her with a cold, merciless gaze. Lilith dearly aches to experience Ryuk's heated, passionate love once more. Bracken is nothing like Ryuk. He lacks empathy. He lacks warmth. He smirks as though he can read her mind through her tear-filled eyes. "Golly, Lil, should I pretend to love you?"

Lilith gives him a sharp nod, her tears soaking into her scarf. Bracken purrs against her skull, running his hands over her scarred ribcage. "Gee, you're so _precious_, Lil." The vines catch in her ribs and she grits her teeth in preparation. He's never subtle about his intentions.

Her ribs crack as his vines twist, pain stabbing through her soul. The scarf muffles her cry. "Heal yourself." Bracken orders her, roughly caressing her skull. Lilith obeys, forming green fire around her ribs and keening as the healing burns into the broken bones. "Good girl." He kisses her again.

This- this is what she needs. She doesn't deserve a warm loving relationship, not after she shredded Ryuk's trust in her with her deception. But she needs _something_, needs _someone_ to love her enough to punish her. She sobs into her soft scarf as Bracken breaks her bones and orders her to heal herself, again and again and again.

Bracken finally growls in annoyance, and yanks the scarf down with the terse order, "Color."

"Blue," She sobs, hating herself for giving up so soon.

Bracken sneers at her, equally disdainful. "Golly, you've gotten _weak_. Time was you'd let me do this for hours."

She shudders and leans into his arms, needing the physical contact, needing to cuddle. He steps away, denying her. "Bracken, Please." She begs. "I- I Need This."

He grins, his hickory-thorn teeth glinting in the dim light of the office lamp. "Haha, you're such a liar, Lil." Lilith flinches, dropping her gaze to the fluffy-carpeted floor. "Gee, I'm so sorry, but not everything is about you!"

"I Know That! But-"

He cuffs her skull with his hand, light enough to only sting but hard enough to warn her he could do much worse. "No. You agreed to the rules. I don't do aftercare." His grin sharpens. "If you want that so badly, maybe you should go beg your creepy _brother_ for a cuddle. I bet he'd agree. Gee, he'd do _anything_ for you." Lilith notes his bitterness, and connects it to Chara and Frisk leaving him.

"You can't control what Chara does with their life." Lilith snaps, but realizes her mistake too late.

Bracken steps into her space, looming with a menacing threat in his eyes. "What was that, Papyrus??" A stab of pain nearly tears Lilith's soul apart. "Hahaha, you're so _cute_, Rus! Such a _hon_."

The pain hardens into stone. "Get The Fuck Out Of My Office." Lilith reaches for her talwar in her inventory, just to feel the comforting weight.

Bracken's lips curl in a disgusted sneer, as though Lilith were a cockroach. "Golly. You sure you wanna alienate me, too?? I'm your only friend, now, Lil. Everyone else abandoned you. Undyne, Mettaton, Monster Kid. Even your freak, Ryuk."

Rage boils in Lilith's bones, bubbling into her sockets and pouring down her cheekbones. "_SHUT THE FUCK UP_ AND _GET THE FUCK AWAY_ _FROM ME_!!"

Bracken grins as he pounces on the wound he opened. "Haha, did they not tell you?? They're _fake_. They can't love anyone, they can't be brave, they're _programmed_ to love only their precious mommy! Hahaha, they're an android! I bet that freak doesn't even have a soul!"

Lilith bites back her protest that they _do_ have a soul. Bracken would only twist the knife deeper somehow. She needs to let him think he's won. It's not hard to break down into pathetic sobbing. "Th-They're Not A Fr-Freak." 

"Oh, Lil." Bracken soothes. "They _are_ a freak. You were in love with a fake person the whole time. They can't even be a good friend, Lil. Golly, I don't even blame you for deceiving them about me. Haha, it was pretty clever of you to pretend you forgot I could reset!"

Lilith turns away, shoulders shaking as she cries, pain clenching in her soul. She flicks on her transceiver. "Y-yeah." She says in a small voice, then turns back to him. "Th-that's me, nyeh heh, clever Lilith."

"Gee, don't cry. I wouldn't want to hurt you."

Lilith sniffles. "Y-you've broken my bones and killed me. You can't hurt me any more than you already have."

"Golly, Lil, but you _want_ to be hurt. I wouldn't do this unless you wanted it." His hand grips her chin, forcing her head up.

"I- I don't want it anymore." Lilith mutters, jerking out of his grasp.

Bracken's eyes darken, sadism glinting in his bared teeth. "Rus, don't try to lie to me."

"Please, Leave." Lilith snarls, silently pleading with Sans or _someone_ to notice the situation being broadcast through the intercom and come to rescue her.

Bracken steps closer to her. "You don't want that, Lil."

"Yes, I Do!" She snaps. "You've Insulted My Friends And Used Me As Your Toy For The Last Time!!" Bracken lets out a furious growl and tries to grab her arm.

The door swishes open. Bracken flinches from the light and steps back, clenching his fists. Se'Vir stands in the doorway, hot anger blazing from his eyes and in the set of his hackled feathers. "Get away from my Admiral."

Bracken scoffs and storms out. Se'Vir steps inside cautiously. "Here." He takes a blanket off one of the chairs and wraps it around Lilith's shoulders. "He's gone. I'll have him tracked down and locked in the brig. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."

"Th-Thank You." Lilith's bones rattle, stressed and angry and hurting.

"You don't deserve any of this." Se'Vir says quietly, offering a hand. Lilith ignores it, all the emotions draining away from her and leaving her empty and dead inside. Her rattling stops, leaving the atmosphere silent and cold. "I apologize. We've been too harsh on you."

It's too late for apologies. Lilith doesn't care anymore. She takes the blanket off and strides out onto the bridge. The Aggelos have another mission for her to fulfill. It's time she notified everyone of the upcoming experiment.

* * *

Undyne guffaws at a joke Marcella told. It's not even that funny. You turn away and scowl out at the stars, regretting the lies you fed her to get her to take you with. You're starting to wish you stayed with Lilith, even if it meant you'd be experimented on by the Aggelos. Undyne gets on your nerves, and she's made no sign of going after the tyrants yet, instead searching for a safe planet to furlough on.

You miss Lilith. Regret trickles into your soul. You made the wrong choice. You only came with Undyne because you thought she'd give you a better chance of encountering the Aggelos, and boy, were you wrong about that. Maybe you can sneak away. Undyne won't notice your disappearance.

So you stock a runabout with supplies for a couple weeks and then tell Wendi you're leaving. She nearly chokes you with a hug. And then the intercom echoes through the halls, "Commander Ryuk, Report To The Bridge."

You wince, but trudge back up to Undyne, praying she didn't discover your plan to abandon her. But when you step onto the bridge, a grin cracks your face; it's something much worse. Outside the viewport, only a couple kilometers away, an Aggelos battlecruiser rests.

"Fuhuhu, Ryuk!!" Undyne guffaws. "Are these guys friendly or do I need to beat'em up??"

Friendly Aggelos?? Not likely. And then _Zest_ shows up on the screen and you bite back an eager growl. Zest flickers. "You!"

"_You_." You snarl back. "What the fuck do you want with us??"

"My fleet was annihilated." Zest admits, flaring with orange sorrow and white anger. "I have nowhere to go. But I can help you fight the _Quasar_, the Aggelos of your galaxy."

"Why should we trust you??" You snap.

"Ngah, hey, what're they saying??" Undyne raps your forehead with her knuckles.

"He- he wants to help destroy the Aggelos." A glint of hope stirs in your soul. "Hey, turn me back into a dragon!"

"I can't do that." Zest replies. "That was due to Determination overriding the programming of your physical body, and that stuff's toxic to us."

Oh. Luon might be able to make the dirty candies again. "These ships are going to settle on a safe planet, but I know a rebellion who wants to destroy the Quasar!" You cry. "I can take you to them!"

Zest flickers with uncertain suspicion. "You killed us last time."

"I won't hurt you."

"Give us cloaking technology, then I'll think about it."

You nod, a fierce, hopeful grin cracking across your cheeks. "Yeah, sure."

Undyne smacks your shoulder. "What the heck is he saying, punk??"

"I'm going to take them to the _Implosion_." You reply, nearly bouncing with excitement. "They want to help the revolution." And then, when the Quasar are defeated, Lilith will be freed, you'll be a dragon again thanks to Luon's DT experiments, and everything will work out! It's perfect. "But we need to give them cloaking tech, first, so that they can stay hidden from the Quasar Aggelos." 

"Fuhuhu, go ahead, punk."

"Hai!" You're in a good enough mood to humor her.

Undyne grins, slapping your shoulder again. "You're alright, punk!!"

The _Heryn'_s scientists transmit the tech blueprints to the _Lemon_. Zest agrees to take you to Luon and assist the rebellion. Everything's working just as planned.

Zest shows you around his ship as his crew sets up the cloak. The battlecruiser seems huge from the outside, yet it's comparatively small on the inside, too packed with tech to be any more spacious. Zest brags that he has only fifty personnel on board, since that's all the ship requires.

"What's something we can exploit?" You interrupt him as he's ranting about the silver sheen of one model of plasmatic interceptor versus the obsidian hue of another.

"Exploit?" He flares haughtily. "You're inferior creatures, they have no weaknesses that you could take advantage of."

You smirk at him. "Determination is poison to you. Also you're super fucking weak and I could kill you right here."

Zest blazes with alarm. "No! I meant-! I meant you can't possibly defeat the Quasar alone, without me!"

"Right."

Zest inches away from you. "The Quasar have powerful telepathy." He says. "They love to play with lesser creatures, in the name of _experimenting_ on them."

A shudder runs down your spine; Lilith lives at the whim of the Quasar. The sooner they're defeated, the better. "What else?"

Zest glows defiantly. "I'm not telling you anything else until you take me to your rebellion."

"Fine, deal." This plan has a real chance of working.

* * *

Sans grabs Lilith's arm as she staggers. "woah, sis, you okay?"

"Did you not get the memo, you idiot??" She snaps, gripping her skull and seeming nauseous.

"uh, i did, but it ain't serious, right?" Sans helps his sister to her feet. The Aggelos overlords started a new experiment on the _Liltha_. Sans isn't exactly sure what it's supposed to do; he never read up on biological magic, being more of a physics-lover, himself.

"Expected Death Rate: Fifteen Percent." Lilith snarls in a dull hopeless tone. Sans goes cold all over. "Symptoms: Dizziness, Drowsiness, Nausea and Vomiting, and Telepathy."

"wait, wait, sis, _telepathy_??"

"It's not the virus itself that kills. It's the telepathy." Lilith pats Sans's skull. "But as long as we all resist using it, we should be fine. You were sleeping through the announcement, weren't you, lazybones."

"yeah, well, i didn't think it would _kill_ anybody." Sans retorts. "isn't there some way to, i dunno, stop the effects?"

"Ria is working on it." Lilith sways. Sans makes her sit down in her chair. The bridge is empty save her and himself. Most of her officers abandoned her.

"look, lil," Sans starts, regretting the fact that he didn't force her to go with Undyne. "maybe you should call the deal off."

Lilith scowls at him. "They'll Destroy Us As Soon As They Have No Use For Us."

"oh."

"I asked Roc about transforming Ryuk." Lilith sighs and grips her head. "He _laughed_."

"uh. who's roc?" Sans says, having conflicted emotions about Ryuk still and not wanting to think about them.

"Our Overlord." Resentment bleeds through Lilith's tone. "It Seems I Can't Keep Any Of My Promises Anymore." A tear drips from her chin.

"nah, sis. it'll be okay." Sans lies and pats Lil's shoulder. "everything'll be alright."

Lilith keels over the arm of her chair, sockets vacant and lifeless. Sans stares at her with sharp fear pounding in his ribs. This can't go on.

He drags her into one of the comfy chairs in her office and puts a blanket over her. Then he goes back to the bridge, grinning at the ground as though in a daze. This can't go on.

Sans searches in the coms console for Roc. Se'Vir strides into the bridge with three mugs of cocoa, and sets them down at ops. "Sir, where's the Admiral?"

"sick." Sans says tersely. He's still mad at Se'Vir-- at _all_ of Lilith's officers-- for treating her so poorly. "help me with this."

"Yes, sir." Se'Vir approaches. "What are you looking for?"

"roc."

"I see. Here." Se'Vir punches in a code.

"go sit in the office, keep Lil company."

Se'Vir salutes and exits. Sans grins with fury dripping down his cheekbones. This can't go on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Spoiler comments below ;p When I originally posted this story, I gave up and posted each arc as a single chapter, then came back later to fix it, thus the out-of-place comments ;p (thank you to everyone who left comments, I really appreciate it!!)


	37. My Soul And My Youth

Stars are so beautiful. Frisk pets Tonton's hair as she sits in his lap. He ignores her, busy writing dumb boring stuff. Tonton has ascended from mere president to galactic emperor in a matter of months-- even if he doesn't call himself an emperor, Frisk knows that's basically what he is. Frisk smirks at Tonton as he glances at her with an intense look in his eyes. "Well, dearest." He purrs. "Don't you think you should be helping me somehow?"

"I am helping, hehe." She squirms on his lap. He pats her head and keeps working. He only has two arms, now, thanks to Cuina, but the other two have been turned into secret wings hidden in his back. He only told Frisk, because she's special. "I'm being your lap-warmer."

"Ahh~ darling, but you could be so much more helpful if you took some of these budgets and compiled them." Tonton says in his low sultry voice.

Frisk shivers and caresses his chrome-coated cheek. "But I don't wanna."

"Then I will be severely displeased with you, dearest, and you ought to know what happens to those who severely displease me." Tonton's voice hardens, yet there's still a playful note to it.

Frisk pouts at him, quivering her lower lip. "Tonton, you would never hurt me, your dearest darlingest family."

Tonton's processors whir in a put-upon sigh. He goes back to his paperwork, and Frisk keeps cuddling him.

* * *

Only a few kilometers away looms the Implosion fleet: seventy-four starships all told. Zest opens a channel to the flagship, the _Alaco_. You stand before the screen, right beside Zest. "Yo," MK answers, his tone suspicious, but then his eyes land on you. "Ryuk!!"

"Hey, Mil-Gwedh." You grin at him. "Missed me?"

"No way in hell, fucker." MK laughs. "Yo, what're you doing with the Aggelos?"

"MK! Meet the last survivors of the Dai'zhe invasion: Zest and his crew." You gesture grandly to Zest. "They want to help fight the Quasar Aggelos."

"Yo, we could use some tips!" MK yanks Luon into view. "So far we haven't even seen one!"

"They like to stay hidden." You translate for Zest, then continue, "But, uh, there may be a way to beat them, since DT is toxic to them."

"I'll look into it." Luon says.

You tap your fingers together nervously, then tell Luon what Zest told you about your transformation. Luon nods thoughtfully. MK smirks at you. "Yo, I told you Luon could help."

"Shut the fuck up, you said glamour." You retort, stomping your foot on the ground. "Besides, if DT harms Aggelos _and_ it was the source of my transformation, it wouldn't hurt to wipe two systems with one virus."

"Of course." Luon says. "Thank you for this information."

"And yo, we'll welcome any help you can offer, Zest." MK grins and waves at you. "Are you coming over here, or what?"

"I- uh, I kinda left Lilith with the Quasar." You rub your neck, sheepish with guilt. "I'll join you until Luon gets some DT ready, and then I'm headed back."

"You teach our coms officer Aggelos and it's a deal, yo."

"Yes, sir." You salute him. MK looks uncomfortable with this for some reason, but he doesn't mention why.

"Prepare to be beamed over, yo."

Once on the _Alaco_, you head to the bridge. MK laughs and throws his arms around you, then smacks your chest. "Yo, you're getting muscles!"

"_Oof_, shut the fuck up, Undyne barely let me rest." You scowl.

"Hey, yo, maybe all that will translate into dragon form! You were kinda pudgy last time."

You shove him lightly. "Fuck off, idiot, I was epic and you know it."

"Suzy," MK calls over to the coms console, and you stiffen. Suzy was one of the main ringleaders for the mutiny. "Ryuk here's gonna teach you Aggelos."

You start to correct him, "Uh, actually-"

"Great." Suzy stands up, scanning you.

"It's Commander Ryuk, actually."

MK performs a melodramatic double-take and stares at the pins on your collar. "Yooo, really??"

"Yeah, well, Lilith made me Lieutenant-Commander, and then Undyne made me Commander after I fought one of her officers for, uh, being a dick." You preen your collar haughtily.

MK grins. "Yo, that's great! But we don't have protocols or ranks anymore."

"Eh?" You frown, confused.

"Yeah, Tonton got rid of them." MK says with an almost-hidden hint of anger. "Anyway, yo, go do your thing."

You glance over at Suzy. "Yes-"

"No!" MK claps his hand over your mouth. "You gotta stop that. Just say _on it_, or something, yo."

"Okay. On it." You shrug. It doesn't make much difference to you, but you miss the discipline Lilith upheld on the _Liltha_. Regret trickles into your soul. You miss Lilith.

* * *

Lilith moans in nauseous pain as someone brushes her skull with a cold wet cloth. Words fall just outside her awareness. She doesn't care enough to try to process them. "Ryuk-?"

More words, but the voice is all wrong. She tries to peer at the person taking care of her. Se'Vir cocks his head at her, bright-blue feathers flat with worry.

"Oh." Cold tears slip down her skull. She pushed Ryuk away. They abandoned her. Now she'll never see them again.

"Sir, I'm afraid the entire ship has been compromised. A few of us seem to be immune to the virus, but I'm afraid- I'm afraid your brother-"

"Where Is He??" Lilith sits up, forcing herself to brave the nausea and dizziness.

Se'Vir pushes her down gently. "He's with the Aggelos."

Lilith stares blankly at Se'Vir, unable to process the meaning. "He's _what_??"

Se'Vir glances away guiltily. "I left him alone on the bridge to tend to you after you fainted. When I went back, he was gone, with only a note."

Lilith tries to feel something. _Anything_. Anger. Grief. Guilt. They all slip from her grasp, leaving her cold and empty. Sans left her. He swore he wouldn't leave her. The visceral urge to scream rises helplessly in her ribcage. "Give me the note."

Se'Vir hands her a tablet. Lilith stares down at the words swirling blurrily on the screen. _'heya, sis. i ain't gonna let them hurt ya anymore. i made a deal with roc. don't try to rescue me. just live your life. you're free. I love you, Lilith._'

The screen cracks. The message glitches. Lilith barely even realizes that it's her fault. _Oh_. It's all her fault. Tears burn her cheekbones, the void in her soul winding tighter with frigid thorns piercing her ribs.

"What are you going to do?" Se'Vir asks.

Lilith hangs her head. She can't drag her crew into a suicidal mission. "Wait for the illness to pass." She says. "You'll take command of the _Liltha_. I- I'll go alone to rescue Sans."

"Yes, sir."

Lilith struggles to her feet. Se'Vir steadies her. "Nyeh Heh, Sans, Don't Nap Right Now." Lilith sways dizzily, staring at the afterimage flickering in her vision.

"Sir, I think you should wait."

Lilith barely notices that she's being pushed gently down into the chair again. When she does, she growls and fights back. A warm, heavy blanket wraps around her. She cuddles into it. "Ryuk, nyeheh, go get my lazybones brother, he's not supposed to be eating cookies right now."

"Sir- oh, dear."

Lilith stares up at the blue-feathered, parrot-like uiloth. "Y-you're funny." Her words come out all blurry and sticky. "F-funny, nyeheh."

"You're delirious, sir."

"Where- where's Sans?" Lilith asks, feeling like she ought to be doing something yet she can't remember what. "Tell him to go get his great and wonderful sister a drink." She's thirsty. Her mind feels untethered, like it could float off at any moment. She scowls.

"I'll get you a drink, sir, if you stay here and don't try to think too hard."

"Thank you, Ryuk." Lilith says drowsily. Pain wriggles in her soul, but she ignores it. Sleep drags her down into its embrace.

* * *

Laughing alone in the brig, Bracken leaps from mind to mind. This is so much fun. The idiots scream until they give up and let Bracken control their bodies like puppets. Then he jumps out of his current puppet into another.

He _loves_ Aggelos. They gave him the power over time. And now they've given him power over the meek little ants scurrying about in the ship. A few try to fight back. Bracken easily overpowers the pathetic fools.

A sharp pain stabs his head as he leaves one puppet for another. He was so bored in the brig, until he got sick and got these awesome mind powers. He can do so much with this! It's hilarious how frightened his puppets are when he jumps into their minds.

Pain stabs him again as he drops another toy once more. Annoyed, Bracken searches for Lilith's mind. Maybe he can play with his favorite toy in a new way. Lilith has no right to refuse. Not since she _betrayed_ him.

He senses her and sneaks inside. Golly, she's still crying over her dumb brother. She doesn't make any sign that she's aware of his mental presence.

_Gee, what a pathetic loser_. Bracken pushes the thought into her mind. _Sans was never worthy of you, Lil_.

Lilith startles, flinching. Bracken sneers at the emptiness in her soul. _Golly, look how far you've come._

Lilith refuses to reply, but her pain invites him deeper into her mind. He's nearly overwhelmed by the sheer weight of the current of _her_ that he nearly doesn't notice her dragging him still deeper. It starts to hurt, sharp piercing pains that blaze through him. _Ow-! Let go!_ He wails.

A vindictive coil wraps around Bracken's psyche. _Wowie. So weak_.Lilith's disdain prickles menacingly. The coil tightens with crushing power. Bracken screams and struggles to flee from her mind. Lilith drags him down deeper as flurries of knives rip through him.

And then she lets go and shoves him out of her head with one last vengeful twist. Bracken howls, writhing in nothingness, filled with reverberating agony. He limps back to his body to lick his wounds and recover- 

But he can't find himself.

He screams. Nobody hears him. He finds another mind and latches onto it, but he's batted away effortlessly, weakened from the fight with Lilith.

Pain eats away at his mind, corroding him slowly but surely. He screams for someone, anyone, to come and save him.

But nobody comes.

* * *

A month from Zest joining up with the Implosion fleet, Luon reports that he's figured out something that could be used to kill the Aggelos. MK watches with you as Luon unveils his DT disseminator. "This fires micro-droplets of DT at ten kilometers a second. It can pierce through hull plating, and then disperse into the atmosphere. Since Aggelos can not rewind _themselves_, according to Zest, they will die."

"Yo, you're so cool!" MK bounces on his toes like he wants to kiss Luonbefore the scientist can finish.

"Noted, love." Luon adjusts his collar. "Now, I'm not sure what catalyzed Ryuk's transformation, but since Zest claims it was tied to DT, I made a hypospray of concentrate." He hands you the hypospray. "I don't recomme-" He cuts off, mortified, as you yank out your own soul.

MK shrieks at you for being indecent, but you ignore him and activate the hypospray into the gleaming magic. The DT burns, but the pain is glassy and distant. You grit your teeth and pull your soul back in. Agony bursts through your body. You're used to it, though. _Please become a dragon, please become a dragon_-

Nothing happens. The pain ebbs away. You frown, disappointed. "Well, that didn't do anything."

Luon tuts. "Because the DT itself is not the catalyst."

"Are you saying I've gotta kill mom again?" You laugh.

"I'm saying you should seek to replicate whatever emotions you experienced before and during your transformation." Luon says more stuff, something about potential versus kinetic, but you're not paying attention.

Hm. You were desperate to live. You were desperate to escape mom. Desperation? "I'm, uh, gonna go back to Lilith."

"Good luck, yo." MK says.

You leave MK's fleet with a runabout and a DT disseminator. You're not going to use it, though. You have your haladie. If killing an Aggelos out of desperation made you a dragon the first time, then you'll just have to try to get another Aggelos to capture you.

_Amour_, your runabout, leaps into warp for the _Liltha_'s last known position. From there, you should be able to trace her warp trail, and then when you get close enough, you'll hone in on the engines' signatures.

It takes a couple of long, boring, lonely weeks to find the _Liltha_. But, finally, you're home. You dock in the hangar and leap out of your runabout. A powerful stench hits you. Eyes watering, you cover your mouth with your sleeve and flee out of the hangar, hoping it gets better. You slam the door closed behind you and take a deep breath- _mistake_. As you break down into violent coughing, you try to place the stench. You've smelled it before.

Struggling through the halls, searching for someone to tell you what's going on, you choke as the smell gets worse. You turn around the corner. Bile forces itself up out of your throat and your last meal heaves into your mouth. Dexi's rotting body rests on the floor. You gag, then fall to your knees as your stomach purges, horrified tears welling in your eyes.

After you finally manage to stop dry heaving, you struggle to your feet and continue on. You peek inside the brig as you pass it. Dust covers the interior of one of the cells, as though a sedryn had _exploded_. Queasy, you duck back out and flee through the halls for the bridge. Several more dead bodies rest on your way. You dodge them and keep running. "Lilith!!"

Nobody answers. You reach the bridge. It's on lockdown. Frantically, you dial the code in to open it. It slides open. Fresh, clean air brushes through your lungs. You stagger inside and close the door again. "Lilith?"

Se'Vir looks up at you, sitting in Lilith's chair. Ria huddles in a corner. M'rer huddles beside her. That's right, Kal'bun is with MK. You had no idea she left her mate behind, though. There's a few other people. They stare blankly at you. "Where's Lilith?" You ask, afraid of the answer.

"She's gone." Se'Vir says hopelessly.

Your legs tremble, despair coursing through your veins. "G-gone?"

"She left to rescue Sans." Ria corrects, with a hard glance at Se'Vir. "We- we survived the pandemic. The rest- they didn't make it."

This is all the Aggelos' fault. Rage tunnels your vision. "I'm going after her." You snarl. "Who's with me."

"We can't leave." Ria says. "We'll spread the sickness. You've probably caught it now, too."

"_Fuck that_, I'm saving Lilith! We can quarantine ourselves afterwards!" You raise your fist in the air. "Who's with me??"

Nobody replies, and they all avoid your glare, lost in their own despair. Scoffing, you spin and storm out, back into the death zone, back to your runabout.

Once in the clean air of your runabout, you collapse into the helm and let tears blur your vision for a moment. But then the moment passes and you blink them away, determined to save your friend.


	38. An Artifice, A Decoy Soul

Roc trails a circle around his bridge. He's quite pleased with his two prisoners. One offered itself up in exchange for the cessation of experimentation on Roc's newest toy. Roc agreed, but let the last experiment run its course anyway. Most of the subjects will die, but that's fine by Roc. He agreed to not experiment on them anymore, so he has no further use for them.

The second rages in its cell, demanding to see the first. Both are the same species and type. Roc glows with satisfaction. He can do so much with these two.

An alert brushes against his mind: intruding runabout in octant-three. He's about to order its destruction, but then pauses. He could have use for it; could add it to his two other subjects. He orders the lifeform's extraction from its vessel.

It falls to its knees before him as he towers over it. He inspects it, and brightens, pleased as he sees it matches the description of the Star-Slayer that God desires. It seems familiar, too, but he doesn't bother remembering where he's seen it before. "**You Killed Juno.**" He says, overpowering it with his telekinesis and pinning it to the ground. "**God Will Be Pleased With Me For Finding Her Sister's Murderer.**"

"F-fuck you! Where's Lilith??" The inferior lifeform snarls. "What'd you do to her??"

"**How Amusing. You Don't Realize The Depth Of Agony You're Going To Be Subjected To.**" He caresses its mind to give it a taste of torment, but then flinches back as the touch of its mind _burns_.

"Yeah?? Shut the fuck up, bastard, and let me see my friend!" It struggles against his telekinesis.

"**You Fool.**" Roc tuts. "**But I Suppose Allowing You To See Your Fellows Suffer Will Make For A Fine Warm-Up.**"

It snarls and lunges at Roc, breaking the telekinesis. Roc teleports it into one of the cells, startled by the aggression. Inferior lifeforms certainly are barbaric.

He contacts his God next. She acknowledges the touch of his mind with a sharp glint of pleasure. The pleasure forms a nearly painful burn as Roc reports he's captured her desired target.

* * *

Sans glances up in surprise as _Ryuk_ of all people collapses into the cell, teleported there by the Aggelos. "uh. hey."

Ryuk snarls and throws themself against the metal wall. "Lilith!!"

"uh, she's not here." Sans says, frankly offended that they're ignoring him. "she's safe on the _liltha_."

Ryuk scowls at him. "The _Liltha_ died." They slam a fist on the wall. "Lilith came to save you, you goddamn fucking imbecile!"

Cold trickles down Sans's spine. "uh. heh. nope." He does what he does best, deny reality.

Ryuk scoffs and rolls their eyes. "Fucking _typical_."

"shut up, kiddo."

"Don't _fucking_ call me a _kid!_!" Ryuk stomps their foot several times.

"okay, _pal_." He spits, hoping they get the hint and stop pissing him off.

Ryuk shoots a poisonous glare at him. "Everyone on the _Liltha_ _died_." They snap. "Or they're _dying of starvation_ because they can't go out for fear of spreading a pandemic!"

"not my problem, kid." Sans snarls, blocking out the guilt and horror. "i tried to make roc stop the experiments. not my fault he interpreted our deal differently."

Ryuk growls. "I don't know why I ever expected you to be decent."

"uh." Sans goes blank, lost for words. "says the kid who betrayed my sis." Their head snaps around to glare viciously at him. His grin widens. "and who _abandoned_ my sis when she needed ya most."

Guilt flushes most of their anger away. "She- she told me she wanted distance." They hug themself, seeming to shrink with grief. "So I tried to respect that."

Sans lets out a sigh. "y'know, i can't stay pissed at ya for long. truce?"

Ryuk scoffs under their breath, muttering something. Sans's grin tightens. They glare at him and say, "Right. Like you couldn't stay mad at me after _nearly killing_ me- oh wait, it took, like, _never_ for you to come around!"

"look, pal, you deserved that." Sans growls.

"Oh, right, cause I thought I had literally no other choice, so _obviously_ I deserved to be beaten half to death for it!!"

"you could have died alongside her instead of betraying her!"

"Sure, asshole, I could have! _Look_, I'm not saying what I did wasn't wrong, I'm- I'm just saying you should give me a fucking _break_ already!! _You_ try having a brain-parasite whispering in your ear constantly while in a deathly situation!! I was led to believe I had no choice!"

Sans huffs. "okay, fine, i'll grant that _maybe_ i was a bit harsh on ya."

"A _bit_." Ryuk scoffs mockingly.

"don't push your luck, pal, you still abandoned her and i don't forgive so easily as she does."

"_Yeah_. I _know_. I have the scars to prove it." Ryuk clenches their fists.

Sans rubs his head, ignoring the guilt creeping in. "will ya give me a break about this already?? i'm just pissed enough to dunk ya, kiddo."

'Oh, sure, solve your problems with _more_ abuse, that totally won't explode in your face." Ryuk mutters. "Dick. Go fuck yourself with a chainsaw."

Sans wishes he could be in a different cell, _anywhere_ to get away from the vitriolic, salty, not-a-dragon-anymore kiddo he used to be friends with. "wow. okay. i guess you really don't care about Lil, huh, since all you've done so far is harass me."

Tears bloom in Ryuk's eyes. They start to speak, then stop themself and drop into a ball in the corner, ignoring Sans. He glares at them a moment longer, then turns away and sits in the opposite corner.

* * *

Ross laughs and bounces on Undyne's back as she leaps off the gangplank into the tall, soft grass. Marcella lands beside her. The other starmas and officers are quick to follow.

The deserted planet rests near the Sol system, and holds mostly grand, arching trees and shallow, algae-infested seas. Undyne dubs it _Kokoro_. Marcella takes Ross and lets him swing on her cyborg arm as Undyne treks into the forest with a team to explore.

Undyne trusts her comrades. She's been through hell and back with them. And maybe some of them don't fully trust her yet, but fuhuhu, that's just life, and it's nothing that can't be fixed with a few field trips into the maws of death. Kokoro's peaceful aura can't stop Undyne from screaming her soul out to the twin suns and tossing a spear at the first three-antlered elk-like creature she spots.

The elk roars and charges her down, baring its sharp teeth, and she realizes belatedly it's probably carnivorous. The antlers twist and move like mandibles trying to chomp her. Undyne spears the elk through the neck. Yellow liquid gushes out. It staggers and collapses.

"Fuhuhu, get this meat back to camp!" She crows to her team.

"Sir, it could be poisonous."

Undyne stares at the speaker. "Then fucking _unpoison_ it!!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

Undyne guffaws and strides over the elk's neck to get deeper into the woods. Her crew will be eating well tonight.

* * *

Elysium glows with pride. A faint burning itch digs in her core, but she ignores it. She reaches out to her subjects, transmitting Roc's success in capturing the Star-Slayer, the poor pathetic fool who will die a billion deaths and live a billion tortured lives.

Her subjects glow bright with vindictive amusement. Those who kill their own deserve the worst torment imaginable. Elysium, eager to begin, reaches to the Star-Slayer's mind. It _hurts_.

Elysium flinches back in confusion. The burning itch grows stronger. Elysium searches for the source, then startles in alarm as she notes spikes of determination digging through her plasma. Dreadful terror racks her with agony. She doesn't tell her subjects, who would leap at the chance to defeat her and become God.

Elysium struggles to find where the poison could have come from. She reaches for Roc's reports. He had been experimenting on a telepathic pandemic, using a single isolated ship for testing. How could the fool have let it evolve like this, though?? She notices the Star-Slayer blazing with determination and carrying the sickness. The idiot Roc failed her.

Or maybe this was his plan all along. She starts to crumble in on herself. It takes weeks, maybe, or maybe only days, Elysium can't keep track of the torment.

She screams in one last burst of agony, and then explodes into a dusty supernova.

* * *

Roc hasn't done anything yet. You're not sure why. Sans just naps on the floor all the time, except when he wakes up to snipe at you for crying. But you can't really do anything else.

You're trapped in the cell with Sans for days without being given food, and the only water is from a dripping tap in the side of the wall. If Roc is testing to see how long his subjects can survive without sustenance, heh, you're not sure you'll last much longer.

But as you're taking a drink from the meager trickle and ignoring Sans's barb that you're going to waste it on more tears, you're teleported back into Roc's lab.

"**WHAT DID YOU DO TO US??**" Roc screams, his form glitching.

You stumble free of the weirdly frail telekinesis and draw your haladie. He's dying. You're not sure how, you're not sure why, but this is your only chance. "Rewind the _Liltha_." You sway as you threaten him with Cactus, hoping he doesn't realize how weak you are. "Rewind it back to before you started the pandemic."

"**FIX ME!! FIX ME BEFORE I DIE!!**" Roc howls.

"Do as I said!!" You manage to bark with the last of your energy. "Set my friends free and remove the pandemic from us, too! Then- _only_ then I'll set you free!"

Roc lets out a static sob, and his glow becomes a submissive red. "**Yes, God.**"

Welp. You can roll with that. "V-very good. I'm pleased with you." You stumble to the wall and support yourself against it.

You see on the screens that Sans and Lilith stumble out of their cells. They rush to each other and embrace. On another screen, the _Liltha_ glitches and then her engines flare to life. Your own body shifts back in time-state to before you caught the illness, strengthening you. "**It Is Done. Please- Please Free Me From This Pain!**"

Your teeth bare in a cruel grin and you shift your grip on Cactus. "Of course." Your tone drips with sweet honey. Time to transform.

* * *

Lilith sobs as she hugs Sans, the ice around her soul shattering into shards of relief. "Y-YOU FUCKING IMBECILE, I WAS WORRIED SICK!!"

"heh."

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!!" Lilith stomps her foot, but it's hard to do while spinning Sans around in a fierce embrace, so she stops and settles for huffing. "YOU JUST _LEFT_ ME AND I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WERE DEAD OR NOT!!"

"sorry, Lil."

"SORRY ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!!" Lilith stops short as she sees Ryuk approaching, coated in rose-gold dust. Their pissed scowl could rival even _hers_. Emotions conflict in her soul. She's upset they left her, but they came back, and from the looks of it, they saved her and Sans. She settles on joyful relief and calls, "RYUK!!"

Ryuk focuses on her, and even though they're still scowling, she can tell they're not angry _at_ _her_. "Hey, queen."

"Y-YOU CAME BACK?" She stammers a bit, not sure why they'd think she's worthy of saving.

"Of course I came back. But you didn't want me around." Ryuk says, a bit resentfully.

Lilith sighs. "I Just Needed Some Space, But You _Abandoned_ Me." She remembers her therapist, Jazz, used to tell her to be open with her emotions. "It- it made me feel worthless."

Ryuk's scowl drops into a guilty grimace and they tap their fingers together nervously. "I won't do it again."

"Promise?"

"I swear it on my honor, Lilith, I won't abandon you again."

A flutter flickers through her soul at their intensity. "You'd Better Not."

Ryuk tries to smile but fails. "Friends?"

"Yes." Lilith tries to glower and meets with about the same amount of success. "I Missed You." Tears well in her sockets. She holds on tighter to Sans, who just snores like a noisy sack of potatoes.

Ryuk approaches her and sticks their hands in their pockets. "I, uh, can't hug you, yet."

"Th-That's Alright." Lilith snuggles Sans in her arms. "I Already Have A Teddy Bear."

"Heh." Ryuk chuckles, but their smile doesn't reach their dark eyes. "We're not sick anymore. And I had Roc rewind the _Liltha_. Everyone should be okay."

The tears drip from her chin. "Thank You." It's not enough, but she can't fully process anything right now, and she wants them closer.

Ryuk huffs. "But, I think, uh, maybe you need more hugs? So- so even though I'm not a dragon yet- uh. I might never be. So I- I'd rather hug you, if that's okay." They look down. Lilith's soul aches with their pain. 

"Of Course I'll Always Welcome A Hug From You, Ryuk." Ryuk isn't Bracken. Ryuk would never take advantage of her like Bracken did.

Ryuk glances up and their gaze sharpens. "Did the aggelos hurt you??" Lilith tries to school her expression, afraid her face showed some of her hurt.

"It's Nothing, Nyeh Heh-"

"Lilith. Queen." Ryuk steps closer, soothing her with the pet name. "You look like you died again."

Lilith winces. "He Didn't Kill Me This Time-!"

Sans trembles with anger in her arms, waking up. "the fuck??" He demands, gripping her tighter.

Ryuk offers their hand. Lilith collapses into their embrace, still holding onto Sans. Ryuk lifts both effortlessly into their arms. "What happened?" They ask gently.

Drawn by their fierce caring eyes, Lilith sighs. "Bracken Crossed A Few Lines, That's All."

"Can I?" Ryuk growls. A shiver goes down her spine. But it's not fear for herself. It's empathetic fear of what Ryuk and Sans are going to do to Bracken. It's comforting to have her brother and her friend back. But she can handle herself, she doesn't need them to destroy for her.

"No." She says. She may have been hurt by him, but she doesn't want him to die for it, even though she knows Sans will do whatever he wants without caring whether Lilith actually desires Bracken's punishment or not.

"Okay." Ryuk sounds disappointed. Lilith snuggles into their shoulder, resting her skull under their chin.

"i ain't bein' so nice, Lil." Sans says.

"I Know." Lilith raps his skull with her knuckles. "But Don't Kill Him."

"sure. for you." Sans sighs.

Ryuk reaches their destination: a hangar filled with captured ships. They hum, then head to the sleekest beauty there, an obsidian parrot-class cruiser. Inside, they set Sans and Lilith down before going to the helm. "Queen," They grin wanly back at Lilith, who feels a blush heating her skull. "Once this fuckery is over, we're all getting goddamn therapists."

"What About The Aggelos?"

Ryuk glances away sheepishly. "I, uh, it's complicated, but I don't think they're a problem anymore."

"Wonderful. I expect a full explanation later." Lilith buckles Sans in and then goes to sit beside Ryuk. She offers her hand to them.

"Queen- it was all selfish." Ryuk admits guiltily. "I thought Undyne was going to fight the Aggelos. I thought if I fought the Aggelos, I'd- I'd turn into a dragon again. But I _didn't_." Their voice twists with bitter grief. "What did I do wrong??" They grab Lilith's proffered hand and hold on. "I always do everything wrong!"

"So Do I." Lilith sighs. "That's just who we are. Two fucked-up people."

"Y-yeah." Ryuk's shoulders shake with a small sob. "Lilith, I'm so sorry for leaving you again, I'll do my best to make this up to you!"

"You've done that already." Lilith reassures them.

They mumble, ducking their head, "You can't trust me."

"You Can't Trust Me, Ryuk. But I Know I Can Trust You Again."

A tear trickles down their cheek. "I- I don't know if that's smart."

"You came back. You braved the Aggelos, you braved being captured again. And you saved us." Lilith traces circles on the back of Ryuk's hand with her thumb. "You saved me."

"Luon and Zest helped, actually." Ryuk replies, but they seem slightly cheered.

"Well, I'm Not Kissing Them."

Ryuk's cheeks darken with an adorable blotchy blush. "Y-you still want to kiss me?"

"Nyeh heh, isn't that some sort of tradition?" Lilith teases. "The princess kisses her dragon come to save her from the evil knight?"

Ryuk splutters. Warm fluff coalesces in Lilith's ribcage. "Yeah, but I'm piloting right now."

"yeah, just ignore me." Sans calls from the back.

"Is That A Volunteer I Hear??" Lilith threatens.

"nah, i'm too tired to pilot. 'sides, i don't want some upstart kissing my sis."

"What You Want And What I Will Allow Are Two Vastly Different Things, Sans."

"I missed you." Ryuk hums. "But- but no kisses until we both get therapy."

"Yes, Ryuk." Lilith purrs, resting her head on their shoulder. They lean their head on hers.

"Also you're gonna help me figure out how to become a dragon again." They stomp their foot a bit petulantly.

"Yes, Ryuk." Lilith feels so peaceful and tired, like she could float off in the trail of a comet. Her brother is safe. She's safe. Ryuk came back for her.

"_Stars_, you're amazing." Ryuk murmurs under their breath.

"Love you, too."

* * *

Supernovas blaze far in the distance, several forming at once in waves and blasts. MK stares out the viewport, hugging Luon to his side. "Yo, what's all that?"

"I don't know." Luon kisses MK's cheek. "Shall I investigate?"

"Go ahead, yo."

As Luon heads to the science bay, MK receives a comlink from Tonton. "Yo." He answers it.

"Ahh~ darling, I suppose you have seen my victorious extermination of the dreadful Aggelos?"

MK stares out at the supernovas. "That was you?"

"Why, of course it was." Tonton purrs. "And as I am the conqueror and savior of the galaxy, I expect you to bow to my wishes."

"Yo, I thought we were an anarchy??" MK snaps, lying to draw Tonton's true intentions out.

"Really, darling, anarchy has _nothing_ on me. My people have decided they want me to be the Supreme Galactic Emperor, and so, it is with a heavy heart, I assume these responsibilities."

"Yo, then I'm the Acting Regent of KOR!!" MK doesn't regret blurting the challenge out. "We won't be subject to dictators, yo!"

"Darling, darling, there's no need for such a loaded term like _dictator_. I rule with the full consent of my people."

MK grumbles under his breath, pissed at the flashy android. He bets Tonton lied about defeating the Aggelos, too. "Well, I'm gonna have an election for my nation, and we're gonna choose a president who's _not_ you!"

"We'll see how far you get, darling." Tonton's voice holds a honeyed threat.

"Yo, we'll see, alright!" MK cries, and cuts off the comlink just to be petty. He storms out onto his bridge. He's got a new wannabe god to destroy.


	39. Relent Or Resist

As supernovas burst far off amidst the stars, dread washes through Zest. He gave his allies the means to defeat the Quasar, but they could just as well use it to kill him and his crew now that the Quasar aren't a threat. He orders his crew to cloak the ship, then sneaks away silently. Maybe he can find a nice planet somewhere and settle down.

After a few days of searching, Zest comes across a peaceful lifeless planet. His crew cheers in relief, delighted to have a home again after eons of traversing galaxies without rest.

A fleet of battlecruisers uncloaks around _Lemon_. Zest frantically orders a crash-landing on the planet. A channel opens.

"Darling~" A pink and silver android with flashy hair and bright eyes stands beside a cute, cheerful adani. "You poor fools."

"Don't kill us!" Zest pleads, realizing too late that they can't understand him.

The android smirks. "What was that? You wish to have a swift death? Well~ I don't know how swift it will be, since I have _this_, and I'm not sure what it does yet." He unveils one of the DT disseminators that the amlyg scientist created.

Zest has been betrayed. Ryuk probably took their disseminator straight to this android, who seems to be a commander of a massive army. Desperately, Zest orders all countermeasures activated. "Fire at will!!" These inferior lifeforms won't get the best of him.

Several starships explode around _Lemon_ as she careens into the atmosphere of the planet. Zest won't let his enemies get the Aggelos tech. "Self-destruct!" He cries. Sharp pain spears through his form. He glitches, fierce burning blazing inside his plasma.

"No- no-" Zest stammers, reaching out-

He shatters.

* * *

"Nyeh Heh Heh, We've Arrived Home!!" Lilith crows and rushes out of your cruiser, which you've dubbed _Kitten_. Sans yawns and waddles out after her. You pat the helm lovingly before following.

"Wait up!" You call after Lilith and jog on your annoying two legs to catch up with her. If you could run on all fours again-- _fly_ again-- it would be so much more convenient. You shake your head, trying to dispel the irritation. You've given up on becoming a dragon again. You killed another Aggelos and it didn't change you.

Lilith waits for you, then grabs your hand and drags you all the way to the bridge. Her excitement infects you, so that you can't help grinning like a fool when she blasts you with her gorgeous smile.

"WHY ARE YOU SMILING AT ME??" She cries in mock annoyance.

"Why am I-? Why are _you_ smiling at me??"

"STOP SMILING, YOU'RE MAKING IT HARDER NOT TO KISS YOU!!" She stomps her foot petulantly.

"In that case, I'll just have to smile more." You smirk at her.

She huffs, blushing. "Well Then. I Suppose We'll Just Have To Find A Therapist Soon, Won't We, Since Obviously My Charms Are Irresistible To You!!"

"Yup!" You agree cheerfully, swinging her hand as you keep up with her long strides.

Once on the bridge, Se'Vir greets Lilith with a feather-floof of relief. "Welcome back, Admiral."

"Thank You, Captain Se'Vir." Lilith offers a hug to him. He accepts with a grateful clack of his beak. "I'm Sorry For Leaving You."

"I'm not at all sure what happened, sir." Se'Vir backs away again, flicking his tail. "One moment I thought I would die of hunger, the next moment everyone's all back to life?"

Lilith looks to you. "Lieutenant-Commander Ryuk? Care to explain?"

"C-Commander Ryuk, actually." You correct. "Undyne-"

"I Don't Give A Fuck What Undyne Does." You pout at Lilith, who smirks. "But I Suppose I Was Going To Promote You Anyway."

"MK told me Tonton got rid of ranks in his new order." You grimace. "Do you know what's going to happen to- to _all this_?" You gesture to the starship around you.

"No, I Don't. We'll Figure It Out! But For Now, You Will Explain The Aggelos' Defeat And Our Rescue!"

"Oh, right, okay." You gaze dreamily at her for a moment, then snap out of your daze before spending less than a minute explaining that you accidentally spread the DT-augmented pandemic to the Aggelos, and then made Roc rewind everyone as he was begging you to save him. "Also, since I killed their leader, I'm technically God, now." You grin proudly. "So, ha, you have to bow to me!"

"_Really_." Lilith's sultry growl does things to your stomach-- wild, fluttery things.

"I mean, heh, not if you don't want to."

Se'Vir lets out an annoyed huff. "By all means, continue flirting, ignore our issues."

Lilith pats your head as she turns to Se'Vir. "I think we're done for now. Ryuk, you have work to do."

"Yes, sir." You snap off a salute. Everyone who remembers dying will need counseling. Your vision darkens for a moment as the memory of Bracken pops into your head. Lilith said you couldn't kill him. She never said you couldn't scare him a bit.

Lilith tries to pat your head again, but you catch her hand and kiss the back of her leather glove. She splutters, blushing, so you wink at her before turning and striding off the bridge to go counsel people and terrify a bitch.

* * *

"Sans!" Ryuk calls as their footsteps thud on the floor behind him.

"what??" Sans growls, turning towards them. "you wanna rag on me more??"

"No, I want to help." Their teeth bare, eyeteeth glinting like fangs. "Bracken's a bitch, but I know what gets him."

"i got this, ki- uh, bud." Sans scratches his skull. He's kinda embarrassed for hating them so much when Lilith claims to trust them, especially after they saved both her and Sans. "i guess ya can watch."

"Nah, I want to help."

Welp. Lilith doesn't want the weed to be killed, anyway, and Sans feels like it would be too much work to kill him just to piss her off again. "ya ain't gonna try to make me go easy on him, are ya?"

"I mean, if he's remorseful, I don't see why you should be cruel." Ryuk frowns. "A warning would suffice."

"and if he ain't?" Sans isn't sure why he's taking advice from the kiddo he nearly murdered after they betrayed his sis, but hey, maybe they can lighten his workload.

"I have an idea." Ryuk's wicked grin sends a shiver down Sans's spine. He sorta missed his prank-buddy.

"okay, bud." Sans sighs again. He can't really avoid feeling guilty for going overboard on them, even if he tries to justify it in his head. Ryuk tells him their idea. His grin widens. "go set it up."

Sans shortcuts into the brig when Ryuk reports that it's ready. Bracken flinches, then covers his fear with a sneer. "Oh, it's the smiley trashbag."

"yup." Sans steps forward and grabs Bracken's arm, then shortcuts him.

Bracken stammers in confusion. Sans steps back and closes the door of the airlock before Bracken can realize where he is. "now. me an' you are having a little chat."

"Haha, is this about your brother, Sans? I told you, he wants it!"

"my _sister_ ain't yer toy." Sans growls. "you don't have the right to treat her like one."

"Golly, Sans, _everyone_'s a toy, the hilarious thing is that they just don't know it!!" Bracken guffaws. "Boy, you shoulda heard some of the screams when I was in control of their pathetic weak bodies!! Haha, even _Lilith_ begged me to- uh-" Bracken stops short, gulping heavily. "Why am I in an airlock??"

Sans ignores the last question, soul pounding with fury. "what the fuck did you do to Lilith??"

"Gee, hahaha, nothing!" Bracken smirks. "Let me out, will you??"

"oh, i'll _let you out_, alright." Sans traces a finger around the eject button on the control pad. Bracken's eyes widen.

"N-no, no, wait, gee, haha, you wouldn't kill me, not little old harmless me! Lil would be pissed at you! You wouldn't _dare_ piss her off!"

"eh. i can handle her bein' pissed at me." Sans winks at Bracken. "but yer right, it's too much work to have to clean up the mess afterwards. what with the laws against space-littering an' all that."

Bracken sighs with loud relief. "Haha, I knew you were bluffing."

"but. a friend of lilith's gave me an idea."

"Gee, what kind of idea?"

"they got a couple non-contagious viruses from the aggelos lab. didja know the telepathy virus was only one of the less horrific ones?"

"G-golly, y-you wouldn't- heh, would you?"

"let's see, here. hmm." Sans takes out a couple vials and reads over the gibberish taped to the sides. "this one here causes soul boiling an' detachment, forcing ya to wander around as a soulless and powerless spirit in constant pain. ooo, but this one causes a gradual agonizing transformation into an insect. i could squish ya and Lil would never even know."

Bracken's eyes bug out with terror. Heh. "Y-you can't- you don't even know how to infect me!" He cries with quivering bravado.

"eh. that's for my partner to do. on my command, they'll pump the air in there with the vial of my choice- or both, heh, maybe we'll do both and see which one happens first."

Bracken whimpers pathetically. "Ch-Chara and Frisk will avenge me!"

"heh. those two? they sent a message earlier after i told 'em how you've been treating Lil. they offered to help me."

Bracken screams and slams a fist on the door. "Let me out!! Please, let me out!! I don't want to die!!"

"ryuk, do both." Sans orders through his transceiver.

"Got it." Ryuk replies.

"N-no!! Nonono, please, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I won't touch her again, I swear!!" Bracken falls to his knees to beg.

"hmm. ryuk, the bastard said he's sorry. what do you think, should i let him go?"

"Please, Ryuk, please, remember all the good times we had?!"

"What's that? I didn't hear that. Am I doing both?" Ryuk lies.

"You fucking bastards!!" Bracken screams. "Ryuk, don't fucking do this to me!! Sans, they've done worse to Lil!! Hahaha, are you seriously forgetting that they tried to kill her??"

"so, you're saying they deserved to be beat up?" Sans closes one socket.

"Y-yeah-"

"heh. that's funny. cause, as i recall, they didn't have much of a choice. whereas you- you _did_, and you _chose_ to take advantage of my sister's kindness and abuse her. so, according to your own logic, i oughta kill you and you fully deserve it."

Bracken sobs in terror. "P-please don't kill me!! I'm sorry!!"

"welp. ryuk, you got anything more you wanna say before ya infect him?"

"Nope."

"do it."

Bracken screams as Ryuk's magnolia-scented perfume squirts into the airlock from the grate above. "No!! No, you bastards!! Please, somebody, help me!!" He beats his fists against the wall. "Agh- gack-" Bracken chokes on the thickly scented air and curls up, sobbing helplessly.

"heh. okay, this is pretty amusing. ryuk?"

Ryuk hops down from the ants' nest grate in the ceiling and slams their fist on the door, startling Bracken. "If you don't wanna get keelhauled, maybe try to start respecting others!"

Bracken uncurls slowly from his fetal position. "H-haha, y-you were joking about the viruses, right?"

Ryuk smirks and hovers their finger over the eject button. "Lilith never told _me_ not to kill you." Bracken whimpers pleadingly again. Ryuk's smirk bares their sharp eyeteeth and Sans can see why they believe they should be a dragon. "But we'll let you go if you promise to apologize to her and then respect whatever boundaries she sets."

"I promise!!" Bracken wails. "I promise, please don't kill me!!"

Ryuk glances to Sans. "That good enough?"

"nope. but i'll let him go this once, for you, bud." Sans opens the door and Bracken stumbles out, fleeing hastily. "er. i guess i'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"i said i _suppose_ i should apologize for- y'know."

"Still didn't catch that, what'd you say??" Ryuk grins wickedly.

"_ass_. fine. i'm sorry for beating you up. you, uh, didn't quite deserve that." Sans scratches at his neck-spine. "and Lil really cares about you, and you seem to really care about her, so i, uh, won't get in yer way."

"Aww, thanks." Ryuk pats Sans's skull- _patronizingly_. "I accept your apology for being a stinky sock."

"uh, okay, ain't ya supposed to forgive me or some shit?"

"Nah, that would be too much work." They yawn to accentuate their point. Sans gets the distinct feeling that they're mocking him.

"okay, don't make me take it back, bud."

"Shut up, I know you missed your prank-buddy."

"did not."

"Did too, asshole."

"fine. maybe a bit."

* * *

In the hangar, Bracken loads stolen food and fuel into a runabout. His body feels all itchy and his breath feels thick, like he's really been infected. Haha, it was just a prank, though, he's not really sick. He's just being paranoid.

"Bracken." Lilith's cold voice startles him.

"G-golly, here to gloat??" Bracken jeers weakly.

"No. It wasn't my intention to have you be tortured. Sans and Ryuk both know I can handle myself, so they overstepped."

"Gee, that's great." Bracken grumbles. "You've got _two_ guard dogs now."

"I'm going to speak to Ryuk. But there's not much I can do about Sans." Lilith scowls. 

"Gee, Lil, what a touching apology." Bracken tries to weed out the slight wriggle of guilt with burning resentment. He was humiliated, terrified, and all Lilith can say is she didn't mean for it to happen.

Lilith scoffs. "Don't think that this means I forgive you for taking advantage of me and trying to manipulate me. They overstepped, true, but they did it in my defense. Be thankful Ryuk was there."

"Ryuk?? Golly, that freak was the one who had the idea to shove me in an airlock and make me think I was about to die!!" Bracken snarls, slamming a fist on his runabout.

"You might have actually died if Ryuk hadn't redirected my brother." Lilith shrugs. "As it stands, you're the victim of a humiliating prank, nothing more."

Bracken lets out a frustrated huff. "Fine, gee, I get it. I'm sorry for hurting you."

"I forgive you." Lilith always was that kind of fool, offering forgiveness to everyone who's ever harmed her. "But I don't trust you."

"I'm going to find Chara." Bracken says.

"Good luck."

Bracken hesitates. This could be the last time he sees his toy- his old friend. "You, too."

* * *

Lilith scowls at Ryuk, who shrinks. "I tried to stop Sans from hurting him too badly." Ryuk defends themself weakly.

"I Realize That." Lilith growls. "Which Is Why I'm Only Scolding You. But I Didn't Want Him To Be Hurt At All! I Can Handle Myself, I Don't Need You To Be Overprotective Like My Brother!!"

Ryuk nods meekly. "S-sorry, you're right."

Lilith huffs. "But Fine, I'm Grateful You Kept Him From Dying. You're Dismissed." Ryuk salutes and leaves Lilith's office.

Lilith sighs and drops into her chair. Both the Republic of Teryn and the Alliance of Harthad have been glomped into the Supreme Galactic Empire. Lilith scowls at the message from Chancellor Arakdu, releasing everyone from duty. He sent it to all the fleets under his command just before his death, according to the grapevine at a way-station she had the _Liltha_ stop at.

Lilith is free. Her people are free. Lilith has no clue what she's going to do. Maybe she can continue to explore planets with her crew, but she has a feeling most of her starmas will want to return home to their friends and families. She ignores the feeling of exhaustion in her bones and heads out of her office to give the news to her crew.

The next days pass in a blur. Lilith keeps herself busy in whatever task she can dredge up. Since there's a shortage of personnel anyway, it's not hard to cajole Se'Vir into finding random jobs for her. Lilith loves losing herself in her work, she loves not thinking about anything and just mindlessly doing whatever task needs to be done.

She staggers into her room late in the ghost shift after a short seventy-three hours of straight working. Lilith shouldn't be tired. She's gone longer without sleep before, she doesn't even really _need_ sleep, it's more of a restorative than a necessity. And Lilith doesn't welcome the helpless terror of her nightmares. But she can barely keep her vision from fading, now.

She stumbles into her bed and lands on a firm lump. "_Eep_!" Ryuk squeaks.

"Nyeh, shut up and go to sleep." Lilith grumbles drowsily, curling up on top of them. She's still upset, but they're too comfortable to stay mad at.

"Mkay." Ryuk mumbles. They smell funny, like wine.

She searches for their head in the darkness, then bats them lightly and whines, "You were driiinking without meee."

"Sorry." They try to roll off the bed. Lilith keeps them captured.

"Sle~eep." She cuddles Ryuk. They purr and snuggle in her arms.

"You need to stop working so much, queen."

Lilith peeks open her sockets blearily. The lights have switched on. "What- what time is it?" She yawns.

Ryuk scowls down at her, a fond glint in their eyes. "It's time for supper."

"What?? Already??" Lilith tries to get up. Ryuk pushes her gently down again. "Nyeh, I need to get back to work!"

"No, queen, you're having a nice relaxing week off." Ryuk says sternly. Lilith glowers at them and rises, despite them trying in vain to keep her down. "Hey, stop intervening with your own intervention!"

"Ryuk, So Help Me, I Will Not Be Pleased If You Keep Me From Working."

"Okay." Ryuk grins innocently and then wraps her in a blanket and makes her fall back into bed. She's ready to screech in annoyance, but then their weight is on top of her, their arms keeping her contained.

"Ryuk." She growls at them, struggling to free herself from the blanket so she can attack.

"Yes, queen?"

"Get me some oatmeal and we have a deal." She smirks to herself. The ship ran out of oatmeal months ago.

"Okay." Ryuk sighs, shifting their weight over her to a more comfortable position. Lilith feels like she could stay here all day, but she has work to do. "Later."

Lilith manages to get her hands free and then pinches their abdomen. They squeal and writhe under the onslaught of tickling pinches. "Get off of me, unless you wish to feel my wrath."

"Okay- _eek_, okay!" Ryuk yelps and rolls with a thud onto the floor. "Ow."

"Serves you right." Lilith grumbles petulantly, but remains cocooned in the blanket. "I'm hungry." She realizes the last time she ate was a bit of bread about forty or so hours before she fell asleep on this scoundrel.

"Yes, _princess_." Ryuk bows grandly. Lilith glowers at them and they let out an adorable giggle. "I'll get some oatmeal."

"We don't have any."

"Oh? Then what's this?" Ryuk shines their devilish kissable smirk at her, holding up a box of oatmeal packets.

"You Gorgeous Dragon." Lilith snuggles into the blanket, closing her eyes just for a few minutes.

The smell of hot oatmeal with brown sugar wakes her up. She rolls out of bed. Ryuk tuts as they carry the bowl over to the couch. "Now, are you going to take a break??"

Lilith bounds over the bed to the couch and plops down beside them, eagerly snatching the oatmeal. "Yes, Yes, Fine."

"Anything for your precious oatmeal, right?" Ryuk teases, resting their head on Lilith's shoulder as Lilith struggles to not bolt her favorite comfort food.

"You're Not Jealous, Are You?"

"I could never be jealous of something that makes you so happy."Ryuk says with an audible grin. "Or of _someone_."

"You were jealous of Undyne."

"Well, not really, I was just being a brat. As long as you give me attention, I don't mind you finding happiness in other people too." They snuggle into Lilith's scarf, and her soul stutters at their warmth.

"I don't think I would mind you doing that either." She says, not quite sure how a conversation about oatmeal became a conversation about relationships. "But- but are we- _something_?"

Ryuk stammers, "Uh, well, only- only if you want to be? Sorry, I just guessed because you came into my room and slept on top of me, that we were resuming-" They cut themself off, presumably noticing that this _isn't_ their room. "Wait."

"Ryuk, this is _my_ room, you were _drunk_." Lilith can barely keep her voice from cracking into laughter. "But yes, I would love to be something with you."

"Partners?" They sit up, then grin and hold out their hand to her.

"Nyeh Heh, I Knew You Couldn't Resist My Charms!" Lilith cackles and sets her bowl down before pouncing on them. "It Seems I've Caught Myself A Dragon!"

"Rawr!" Ryuk struggles in her grasp until they're sitting on Lilith's lap with their arms around her shoulders. "It seems I caught myself a queen. Maybe I should _eat_ her."

Lilith's soul burns in her ribs, fluttering through her bones. "Nyeh Heh Heh." She nuzzles their neck with her jaws. "Not Until We Find A Therapist, Remember?"

"Shit." Ryuk grumbles. "Yeah, you're right."

"But," Lilith relents slightly. "There might be other things we can do."

"Like?" Ryuk grins.

"How would you feel about bondage?" Lilith snuggles in their arms.

Ryuk's grin bares their fangs. "Well, I rather like being either artist or model."

"Interesting. So do I. And your feelings on whips?"

Their grin turns coy. "If I have a good partner, sure."

"Dom, sub-?"

"Switch."

"I- I think I am, too." Lilith muses. Bracken never let her try to dom him. She's done with bone-breaking; it holds too many bad memories and emotions. Mettaton was never interested in letting her dom him, he preferred professionals. And Frisk thought the acronym BDSM stood for Ballroom Dancing So Much. "What's our safeword?"

"I propose _cactus_." Ryuk bleps at her.

* * *

Tonton gazes out into the stars. They're his. All his. All of his hard work and manipulation paid out in the long run. He remembers being king. He remembers the intoxicating power. His processors whir as he mocks taking a breath, then exhaling. It's his again. His to nurture. Or his to destroy. Nobody lives who is worthy to dethrone him.

But an Emperor must have a consort. Cuina is still with the _Liltha_. Tonton raises a limp hand and gestures to Frisk. "Darling, fetch the _Liltha_ for me. Order them to join my royal fleet."

"Hehe, of course, emperor!" Frisk giggles and trots off to do his bidding.

Ahh~ it's so wonderful to have power again. If only those mites, those ants, the KOR, would realize it's futile to rebel against him. He's magnanimous, though, and so he'll give them swift deaths. Emperor Tonton sighs a sultry sigh and flexes his gorgeous legs. Oh~ the trials of an emperor, oh~ the heavy weight of the crown.


	40. Digging Shallow Holes

Venturing onto the bridge, Cuina flinches when ke sees kis murderer, who only bleps and glares. "_Ka_, what does Lilit want??" Ke asks, grumpy since ke was called away from cooking a new mango fried rice recipe. It even had tasty beetles in it. Ke doesn't trust kis fellow cooks to not eat it all.

"Cuina." Lilith unsubtly steps between Cuina and kis murderer. Ke's grateful ke doesn't have to see their scary glare anymore. "Emperor Tonton sent for you."

"Tonton!" Cuina squawks, cheered by the thought of reconciling with kis favorite friend. "When do we see him??"

"Not for another week." Lilith sounds irritated. Maybe she misses Tonton, too.

"I still don't see why we're bowing to the whim of a tyrant." The murderer growls. Cuina ruffles kis feathers, not deigning to respond.

"I hardly have a choice in the matter, Ryuk." Lilith doesn't defend Tonton's reputation, but that must be because she's been confused by _Ryuk_'s wiles.

Cuina doesn't like the name _Ryuk_, it's too hard to say, so ke names them something else. "Dae can kiss Tonton's sparkly metal ass!"

Dae barks sharply, like a laugh that didn't get the memo it was supposed to be happy. "_He_ can kiss _my_-"

"Ryuk, go counsel somebody." Lilith interrupts.

"_Ka_, Dae, go counsel." Cuina mocks. Ryuk makes a rude gesture at ker, but ke turns kis beak up and ignores them.

Cuina goes back to kis kitchen and finds kis food untouched. Ke chirps cheerfully. This day just keeps getting better.

* * *

Lilith tangles her fingers in Ryuk's hair, focusing on the task of twisting thin braids into their lovely floofy hair, and _not_ thinking about the talk she had with Frisk earlier. Ryuk hums a soft melody, tapping a finger on her knee for rhythm. Lilith recognizes it as an old sappy song about a swan and a fox who wanted to be together. She sings the words of the chorus under her breath, "Oh, dear, oh, my dear, carry me away on your wings~ Oh, dear, oh, my dear, lead me away to your den~ But prey, I pray thee, prey thee not on my flesh~"

"Pretty." Ryuk murmurs.

Lilith blushes, scowling as she affixes a glittery purple ribbon to the braid she just finished. "So are you, now stop talking and let me concentrate."

"Sure, queen." Ryuk wiggles on Lilith's lap to get more comfortable. "What'd Tonton want, besides Cuina?"

Lilith growls at the unpleasant reminder, starting on another braid. "It doesn't matter."

"You're riled up, so it does."

"I can't believe nobody's ever braided your hair before!" Lilith cries, eager to change the subject. "You have lovely hair, wonderful for braiding! And as I'm certainly an amazing braider of hair, with our powers combined, you will have the most dashing hair of anybody in the ship!"

"Duh. I guess I couldn't avoid it forever." Ryuk laughs.

"UGH!!" Lilith gives up under her partner's intense grilling. "FINE, YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY I'M PISSED??"

"Fire at will." Ryuk makes a _pew pew_ sound, then, "Will goes _aaaagh_!"

Such dry uncreative punnery has no effect on the wondrous braiding talent of Lilith, whose fingers dexterously weave hair despite her uncorked rant pouring forth fizzy bubbles of anger. "TONTON TOLD FRISK TO ORDER ME TO JOIN HIS FLEET. THAT'S FINE, THAT'S ALL TOTALLY FINE, WE CAN JUST _DEFECT_ WHEN WE'RE SICK OF HIM, BUT!! BUT FRISK TRICKED ME INTO LETTING IT SLIP THAT YOU DEFEATED THE AGGELOS!! DID YOU KNOW TONTON HAS BEEN TAKING CREDIT?? AND THAT'S WHY HE'S EMPEROR??"

"No clue." Ryuk shrugs.

"AND NOW TONTON IS DEMANDING THAT I TURN YOU IN FOR QUESTIONING UNDER SUSPICION OF POTENTIAL TREACHEROUS INTENTS!!" Lilith finishes with a ribbon, then stares at all the braids. "HOW MANY DID YOU SAY YOU WANTED, AGAIN?"

"Eh, five or six."

"Oops. I May Have Gone A Bit Overboard." Lilith picks up the mirror and nervously hands it to Ryuk.

Ryuk giggles. "Hey, can you weave them all together?"

"Of Course!!"

"Thanks, queen." Ryuk sighs. "I liked Tonton."

"So did I, but he's different. I think the convergence might have altered him." Lilith scowls as she works to twist all the little braids into a few bigger braids close to their head that converge into a short floof at the base of their neck. "Like Sans, he's been even _lazier_. I can hardly believe it's even possible for him!"

"Don't worry, queen, Tonton can't be _too_ different. I don't think he'd hurt any of us."

"If he believes he's protecting _his own_, he very well could." Lilith grumbles, then finishes with a shiny gold ribbon. "There."

Ryuk grins at their reflection. "I do look dashing, don't I!"

"Nyeh Heh Heh!!" Lilith crows. "I Told You!!"

Ryuk spins and plants a kiss on Lilith's jaws, their touch sparkling like electric butterflies. Then they leap to their feet. "Hey, we should spar again."

"Good idea." Lilith joins them. She dreads the day she'll lose them again. Tonton can't take them away.

But the week passes all too quickly, and the _Liltha_ finally arrives at Tonton's station. Lilith flicks through the local signals, disappointed when she doesn't see the _Alaco_ or her other ships anywhere. She would have liked to see MK and her other officers again.

A comlink opens from the station. Lilith scowls as she sips her coffee. Frisk grins from the screen. "Hi! You've been given the great pleasure of joining the Emperor's Honor Guard! All except- uh," She reads off a piece of paper, "Ryuk and Cuina, who will be beamed over to the station momentarily."

Lilith chokes. "WH-WHAT?? YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE THEM!!"

"Sorry, that's the orders from on high!" Frisk's saccharine smile sickens Lilith. "Don't worry, they'll only be executed if they refuse to comply!"

"DON'T YOU DARE TAKE RYUK, OR I'LL DISINTEGRATE YOU AND COOK THE DUST INTO A DONUT, THEN FEED IT TO YOUR PRECIOUS EMPEROR!!"

"I could always explode your ship, hehe." Frisk waggles her finger in the air like she's scolding Lilith. "I took your advice, I got a new family, and they love me! I don't need you anymore."

Lilith growls, frustrated and angry, and closes the channel. She flicks on her transceiver and sets it to Ryuk's extension. "Ryuk?"

"Yep." Ryuk replies. "Don't worry, queen, I can handle myself."

"I- I Know." Lilith sighs. "Don't You Dare Die."

"Yes, Lilith." Ryuk hums a little ditty.

"Stay in contact."

"Sure thi- Hey!" They snap at someone, then the transceiver bursts with static and the link cuts off.

Lilith growls again. There's not much she can do, unless the _Liltha_ defects, but then everyone could be destroyed. She storms into her office and plops in her chair. Sans snores lightly from another chair. "Lazybones." Lilith scoffs fondly.

"eh- wha- oh, heya, lil. you, uh, still mad?"

Lilith thinks about this for a moment, then offers a hug to Sans. He shortcuts into her arms to cuddle. "No, I'm not, but I hope you realize I don't_ need_ or _want_ you to hurt everyone who dares to cross a line. I'm not a child, Sans, I can take care of myself."

"okay." Sans yawns.

Lilith works on files around the snoring lump in her arms. Ryuk can take care of themself. She tries to not worry about them. There's not much she can do besides let them bluff their way out.

* * *

"Hey!" Ryuk cries as Frisk stomps her heel on the transceiver she confiscated.

"Naughty, naughty." Frisk tuts and grabs Ryuk's hand to drag them out of the port bay. Ryuk jerks away. Frisk frowns at them. "We don't want to harm your pretty ship, but if you're bad, we'll have to punish you."

Ryuk scowls, stuffing their hands in their jacket pockets. "Nice to see you haven't changed, bitch."

Frisk covers up the sting of hurt by giggling. "Hehe, you have. Are you learning to be content, traitor?"

Ryuk gives her a jaunty fake grin. "Content? Me?? I'll be _content_ when you're not threatening my friends."

"Come on, Ruru, we have to go see Tonton." Frisk whines and grabs Ryuk's arm again.

Ryuk allows it this time and follows her. "You don't have to act like an idiot, you know that, right?? It's getting on my nerves."

Frisk smiles sweetly to hide a wince. "Tonton likes me like this."

"That's bullshit, if he really liked you, he'd like you for being yourself." Ryuk wraps an arm around Frisk's shoulders, like a conspirator. "I don't like you, but I get why you're such a bitch."

Frisk nearly forces another giggle, but bites it back. "Oh." She says, dropping her gaze as she leads Ryuk to Tonton. "Tonton said-"

"Fuck Tonton. You had an actual therapist, didn't you?? What'd they say?"

"To- to be myself, unapologetically." Frisk recites the words Dio repeated often to her. "But- but how? I'm not sure what _myself_ is."

"You define yourself. Don't let anybody force you into a cutesy idiot box, bitch."

Frisk frowns. "You're just-"

"Tryna get close to you so you feel bad and don't destroy my friends? Yup, you caught me." Ryuk grins, unashamed. "But hey, if I can knock some sense into you at the same time, it's a win-win."

Frisk laughs again, but it feels real this time. "Ahaha, I think I like you."

"Thanks, I like me, too." Ryuk pets their matte black hair, braided into many little braids which then were woven all together. "Like it? Lilith did it."

"Yeah, it's pretty!" Frisk cries and raises a hand to her own shiny brown hair, twisting a couple locks with her fingers.

"Here, I can do it for you." Ryuk offers, and they produce a handful of shiny and glittery ribbons.

"Thanks!" Frisk drags Ryuk to a nearby cantina and sits down in a booth with her back to them.

"French braid, that's what I'm doing." Ryuk decides and starts working. When they finish, Frisk goes into the bathroom to check their work.

She blinks at herself in the mirror. She- she looks _elegant_. The braid pulls back all the hair from her face and slips like a waterfall down to her chest. "Wow." She hums. The red ribbon matches the red flower design on her dark burgundy sweater.

Tonton calls her. Frisk answers, unable to keep from grinning at her reflection. "Darling~ where are you?"

"Oops!" Frisk cries and rushes back out to the booth where Ryuk was. "Whew, you didn't go anywhere!" She sighs in relief as she sees Ryuk still there, waiting for her.

"I mean, you're going to destroy the _Liltha_ if I disobey." Ryuk retorts. "There's not much I can do."

Frisk sighs at their distress. "I'll try to distract Tonton."

Shocked, Ryuk rises to their feet. "Wait, you'll let me go?"

"Yeah, well. Nobody's ever made me feel beautiful before. Ahaha, I've always been _cute_ and _childish_." Frisk shrugs. "I've done harder things for people who were killing me repeatedly. The least I can do to thank you is make sure you and the _Liltha_ get away safely."

"Thank you." Ryuk throws their arms around her. "Thank you, Frisk."

"Uh- uh- y-you're welcome." Frisk stammers, not used to gratitude.

Ryuk lets go, then bounds past her and flees. Frisk smiles after them. "_Darling_." Tonton's hard voice in her earpiece makes Frisk yelp in terror. "What kind of discipline should a _traitor_ merit?"

* * *

Inside the port bay, you mess around with the controls to take you back to the _Liltha_, then step inside one of the cocoons. The light consumes you.

"Ah~ darling, so good to see you again." Shit. You dodge to the side and run for the nearest door, which shuts with a clang in your face. "No need for such incivility." Tonton claps his hands together sharply. Two guards, both flashily-dressed uiloth, stride into the throne room, dragging Frisk between them. Her hair has been choppily shorn off to be only a few inches long. Tears roll down her bruised cheeks.

"Fuck you, Tonton, let her go!!" You snarl and storm up to the guards. One has the decency to look slightly guilty as they let go of Frisk. The other coldly shoves her into your arms. "Hey, it's gonna be okay." You lean Frisk against the wall as she sobs and twists her fingers in her ruined hair.

Tonton smirks and starts for you. You set Frisk down and step forward to block him from her. "Well, well~ such care is _touching_." Tonton purrs. "But there's no need for lies, darling. Traitors _aren't_ going to be okay."

"True." You feel the comforting weight of your haladie in your inventory. It's there, just in case you need it. Anger thuds in your skin. _Skin_, pah, scales would be so much better. If you were a dragon, you could intimidate this bastard _easily_. "But, uh, maybe forgive her this once?"

Tonton leans back on the heels of his feet and crosses his arms, raising a metal eyebrow, the very picture of a stern authority. "Why should I do that?"

"I tricked her into helping me. So- so it's not her fault, and anyway, what _bastard_ tears out a lady's _hair_??"

"Hm. It's true, you are a trickster, aren't you, darling." Tonton gives you a severe frown. "Very well, you will be disciplined."

"Let Frisk go." You take a step towards him, trying to be menacing. From the way his eyes widen and he takes a step back, you think it might have worked. Your hand clenches around your haladie. "Or I'll kill you."

"Darling, there's no need for barbarism." He smirks and regains ground, stepping into your space as you refuse to back down. He's several inches taller than you. _Fuck him_. "I only wanted to invite you into my harem." Disturbed, you step back. He steps forward again, staying uncomfortably close. "Besides, darling, you can't kill me unless you wish to kill your friends in the _Liltha_ as well. Ahh, wasn't there a special friend you wanted to keep safe? Perhaps I should bring her here, as well."

"Leave Lilith alone!" You snarl and shove his chrome-plated chest, but he doesn't budge.

"Drop the dagger." Tonton gestures sharply to the ground.

You store Cactus back in your inventory and raise your hands in surrender. "Don't hurt my friends. _Including_ Frisk."

"Whether they are harmed depends entirely on how well you behave, darling." Tonton purrs and strokes your braids. "But I have a feeling you're going to be such a good human."

"Not a _human_." You mutter under your breath.

"Now, down to business." Tonton steps back and preens his transparent abdomen, which encases a hologram of a soul. "You are going to remain here as one of my concubines. And the _Liltha_ will be instated into my Honor Guard."

"So I'm your hostage." You wish you could punch his stupid smug smirk.

"Darling~ there's no need for such uncivilized labels." Tonton strokes your head again, then his hand drops to wrap with gentle menace around your neck. "You are my _insurance_."

"Why can't you just let us go?? I won't tell anyone!"

"Ahh, but you can't promise for your entire ship, and I would prefer to not be forced to kill all of your friends just for one thief."

"I didn't steal anything."

"You stole my rightful victory, darling." Tonton growls, his hand tightening ever so slightly. "I was meant to defeat the Aggelos, I was meant to save my people, _I _and no other."

"Bullshit!" You spit at him. He stumbles back in melodramatic shock and wipes the spittle off his cheek, then stares at it for a moment before backhanding you. You stagger, cheek smarting.

"Darling." Tonton purrs in a low dangerous tone, and fear rises to clutch your soul in its cold suffocating embrace. "You don't want to antagonize me."

"Y-yeah?? You're already antagonizing _me_." You snap foolishly back. "Maybe you'd better back off, Tonton, we wouldn't want your empire to find out your power is all a _lie_."

Tonton snaps his fingers and the two guards come forward and grab your arms. "Take this naughty human to their room. We'll see how rebellious they are when their precious ship is destroyed."

Terror dunks your defiance into thorns of ice. "Wait, no!" You cry, struggling as the two uiloth start to drag you towards the door. "No- no, please, don't hurt them, I'm- I'm sorry!"

"You are?" Tonton beckons for the guards to bring you back.

"Y-yes, I'm so sorry, I- I'll be a good human!" Tears prick in your eyes. "Please don't hurt them. They didn't do anything; I'm the one who stole your victory!"

"Ahh~ I do love such a meek contrite spirit." Tonton hums and you sob to hide your shudder. "I suppose I'll have to bring more insurance over, though, to keep both the queen and my darling wild card in check."

"No-!" You stop yourself at his dark look. It rankles that he's referencing _Adani_ Poker cards-- in Dagnir Poker, Lilith would probably be the life hero and you'd be the purple bard-- but that's hardly important at the moment. 

"No?" He grips your chin and forces your head up. "Would you rather I destroy them all?"

Helpless sobs rack your shoulders. "N-no, d-don't hurt them."

"Ahh, I always did enjoy Lilith's brother, perhaps I'll take him." Tonton lets you go and waves a hand to the guards, who drag you away again. "Ta ta~"

Despite your fear, the only worry you can focus on at the moment is that Lilith is going to be pissed with you for getting Sans into danger again.

* * *

The Emperor's Honor Guard surrounds the Emperor's station, which orbits the Emperor's favorite planet. _Fuck_ the emperor. MK scowls as he directs his cloaked army into position for an ambush.

Relative to the station, one fleet of fifty ships is in octant-four, sub-octant-five, three thousand kilometers out. Several more ragtag fleets are scattered about in octant-five, around five to six kilometers out. In octant-one, sub-octant-three, MK's fleet waits at two-thousand kilometers. 

Everything is in position. Everything is ready. MK starts to order a full-scale assault, then his coms officer pipes up, "Sir?"

"Yeah, Lieutenant Pailinn?"

"It's there."

MK chokes. He ordered Pailinn to notify him if they ever spotted the _Liltha_ on the list of nearby signals. But that would mean Lilith joined Tonton, and that doesn't seem like her. "Alright, yo, open a channel."

"But, sir, they could give us away."

"Do it, yo!"

"Yes, sir." Pailinn salutes and obeys.

Lilith stands alone in an empty bridge, tears trailing through the golden glitter under her sockets. MK greets her. "Yo, what the fuck are you doing with Tonton??"

"I HAVE NO CHOICE!!" Lilith screeches. "HE FUCKING TOOK SANS AND RYUK AS HOSTAGES!!"

MK frowns. "Yo, did he really defeat the Aggelos?"

"NO!! THE FUCKING MORONS GOT INFECTED BY THEIR OWN PANDEMIC AUGMENTED WITH DT WHEN RYUK CAME BACK TO RESCUE US." Lilith's fists clench. "KEEP MY PEOPLE SAFE AND I CAN KILL TONTON FOR YOU."

"Y-yo, you don't-"

"I FUCKING _DO_ WHEN MY BROTHER IS IN THE HANDS OF A MANIAC!!" Lilith shrieks.

"Okay, yo, but you better win within twenty-four hours, or we're destroying the station."

"Consider It Done."

"We're gonna beam all your people over. I can't guarantee the safety of your ship."

"That's Fine." Lilith turns away. "Thank You." The comlink ends.

"Yo, you heard her! Get to work!" MK orders. "Get her people out of there!"

"Yes, sir!"

MK sighs and turns back to glare through the viewport at Tonton's station. Twenty-four more hours of waiting. He hopes Lilith wins.


	41. The Monster Always Wins

"Tonton- d-don't." Frisk pleads as the emperor approaches her, grim cheer in his eyes.

"What's that, darling?"

"Don't- don't hurt Ruru." Frisk struggles to her feet, her knees shaking with fear. If she dies, she won't come back this time. Her scalp still stings from Tonton cruelly yanking handfuls of hair to slice through them. He's not opposed to hurting her, even though she's family. She thought he was family.

Tonton claps his hands twice, and a dagnir attendant steps inside the room. "Beam Sans from the _Liltha_." He smirks at Frisk. "Be a good girl."

Frisk wrings her hands. "Yes, highness." She bows, then turns to retreat from the room.

"Ahh~ Sans, there you are." Tonton purrs. Frisk flinches and peeks over her shoulder.

Sans makes a lackadaisical wave. "here i am." He ignores Frisk, which she's thankful for. Most of their interactions end with her getting hurt.

Tonton clasps a suppression collar under Sans's chin. "Just in case your sister's life isn't enough to keep you in check, darling."

"heh. okay." Sans shrugs and willingly follows the attendant who comes forward to lead him to his room. Frisk bites the inside of her cheek as she slips out of the room before Tonton can notice her. She knows where Sans will be taken. She also knows another route there.

The game is harder now that she can't just spam saves. It's _not_ a game anymore. But she has to do the best she can. So she sneaks to Sans's cell.

"heya, pal." Sans grunts, unfriendly as usual. It's a bad idea to give him magic again, but it's the only chance Ryuk has for being saved.

"Hi, Sans." Frisk waves nervously. "I can get you out, but you have to help Ryuk too."

"okay." Sans winks, his sockets void of light. "i'll get the kiddo out and then what, tonton destroys lilith?"

"I'll distract Tonton." Frisk punches her fist in the air like Undyne to give herself more passionate energy. "So the _Liltha_ can flee."

"heh. deactivate my collar and wait for my signal before causing any distraction." Sans comes up to her. Frisk plays around with the buttons on the collar for a moment before finally figuring out how to turn the suppressy part off.

"Okay!"

"thanks, kiddo, now get out of here. when i want ya to distract him, i'll say _fartmaster, go_."

Frisk giggles, hiding her annoyance at the immature joke. She leaves and goes to Ryuk's room. She opens the door on them shifting fluidly from form to form with their cool dagger in one hand and knuckle-dusters in the other."Hi."

They startle, twisting around and slipping into stance, a snarl in their lips. "Oh, Frisk." They stand straight and store their dagger. Frisk laughs. Ryuk scowls. "Thought you were Tonton."

"Sorry, Ryuk." Frisk comes in and pats their shoulder. Ryuk flops onto the gaudy pink couch in one corner. "I turned off Sans's suppressy collar and told him to rescue you."

Ryuk shrugs listlessly. "There's not much he can do."

Frisk rests her head on their shoulder. They stiffen but don't move. "It'll be okay." She hums.

Ryuk remains silent for a few minutes, then finally replies, "Yeah. I know."

* * *

Lilith beams into the station with her talwar drawn, magic thrumming with anger in her bones. Tonton backpedals, astonishment flaring in his eyes. "Dar-"

Bones spear up in thickets from the ground and coalesce in the air, slamming towards the android. Tonton flips out of the zone with a metallic whine of terror. "WHERE ARE THEY??" Lilith snarls at him, dodging the arcs of electricity he shoots from his hands.

"Darling, really!" Tonton cries, backflipping out of another round of jagged attacks. He screams as he falls into the trap of several thick bones stabbing into his legs. "D-darling, y-your ship-"

"DESTROY MY SHIP FOR ALL I CARE!" Lilith snarls. Her crew is safe. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SANS AND RYUK??"

"Oh~ those two, they're- they're in the servants' quarters." Tonton smooths his hair back. "Frisk, fetch them for me."

Frisk steps forward from behind the door. "I- I did." She says. Ryuk and Sans enter the room. Ryuk nods to Lilith grimly, one hand wrapped around their haladie. Sans just keeps grinning, but his pupils light up upon seeing Lilith.

Lilith turns to Tonton. MK will kill him anyway, so now that her brother and lover are safe, there's really no need for her to finish the job. "I SPARE YOU."

"Well~" Tonton purrs. "That's cute, darling. I _don't_."

Ryuk shouts a warning. Lilith spins but weight slams into her, knocking her to the ground, hatred arcing into her soul with a painful orange word, sharp talons clawing her ribs. Lilith forms attacks to knock Cuina off, but ke screeches and spears her socket with kis beak.Red pain explodes in her skull. The attacks dissipate harmlessly. Lilith grits her jaws together against the throbbing agony and claws futilely at the thick floof of the ivren.

Kis weight vanishes, tumbling off of her as Ryuk attacks with a roar. A metallic whirr sounds from Tonton's direction. Sans grabs Lilith by the arm and lifts her. "you okay?"

Lilith blinks back her blurry vision. She's lucky she's not a fleshy type, or she'd be blind in the wounded eye. Tonton has broken free of the attacks and now descends on Ryuk, who's nearly killed Cuina.

"FRISK, FETCH A RUNABOUT." Lilith orders the woman trembling uselessly in the corner. "SANS, GO WITH HER."

"no, sis-"

Lilith shoves him towards Frisk. "I'M NOT LOSING YOU AGAIN! GO!" She turns and charges with her talwar at Tonton.

Tonton doesn't notice her, too busy laughing at Ryuk as they yelp and dance away from his blasts of electricity. He's playing with them, taking advantage of their inexperience and relative weakness. Lilith roars at Tonton before slashing her talwar across his abdomen.

The glass shatters and the hologram glitches. Tonton screams in melodramatic agony. Maybe it's real agony. Lilith doesn't particularly care. She storms over to Ryuk and twists around. Ryuk's back presses against hers for a moment, a comforting touch that reassures her they'll be okay.

Tonton staggers on his broken twisted legs, the jagged pieces of his abdomen flickering with the macabre image of a shattered soul. He stares down at himself for a moment, blank shock and horror in his eyes. "D-darling, I- I didn't want to kill you, but I see I must."

Lilith growls and advances on him, letting Ryuk take care of Cuina. Tonton backs away, terrified. "DON'T EVER TOUCH MY PEOPLE AGAIN!!" Lilith roars, wanting to break him.

Tonton staggers against the wall, then flicks a switch under his chin. Smoke billows out and Lilith flinches back, coughing as her sockets sting. A boot strikes her shoulder and she twists with the blow to keep her balance. Tonton laughs. "DOLL~ REALLY. So _Uncivilized_." The words have lost all semblance of organic notes, now distorted with tinny processors and shallow, metal clicks.

Lilith can't see anything in the thick, irritating fog. She senses motion and slashes at the source. Her talwar meets thin air. She backs away, trying to find a way out of the smoke. "ow." Sans's voice spears shock through Lilith just before a sliver of metal drives home through her sternum.

Lilith stammers, pain burning through her soul from the source. The smoke clears. Tonton floats on rockets before her, his legs and abdomen gone; he flares wings made of metal shards. And he holds Sans by the spine of his neck in one hand. "DARLING~," Tonton howls with laughter. "YOU SHOULD SEE YOUR FACE!"

Sans shrugs apologetically at Lilith. "sorry, i tried."

Lilith distantly hears Ryuk's furious shout. She struggles to look for them. Cuina drags them over by the nape of their jacket as they struggle in vain, disarmed and bleeding from wounds in their arms and chest. "D-Don't Kill Them." Lilith begs, struggling to inhale the ambient magic in the atmosphere, just enough to keep her soul pulsing. "Please, Spare My Brother And Ryuk."

Ryuk snarls viciously and tries to bite Cuina. Since they're not a dragon, the move doesn't work quite so well. Cuina lets go only to give them a sharp peck. Lilith fights to regain control of the magic bleeding from the metal shard in her chest. But she can't. The shard seems to emit a localized suppressor field. She can't even heal herself.

Tonton laughs, a dark, dangerous sound. "Cuina, what do you think I should do with these culprits?"

"Kill them, ka!" Cuina cries.

"_No_-!" Lilith coughs up pale ichor. She's about to die. Sans stares at her with blank, helpless frustration in his sockets, the collar around his neck disabling his own magic. Which _idiot_ failed to deactivate it??

Ryuk lets out a desperate sob. "Please, let Lilith and Sans go! It's my fault, it's all my fault, just kill me!"

Lilith tries to shout at them, but she can't access enough strength to speak. The sight of thin, golden tendrils dancing from Ryuk's wounds catches her attention. They're pretty. Ryuk doesn't seem to notice, too busy pleading for their friends' lives as Tonton taunts them. Lilith can't process any of the words they're saying. She rests her head back. She doesn't want to let go. But it's getting harder and harder to hold on.

* * *

Lilith fell down. Sans stares at her, horror and rage and helpless grief surging through his bones, too much to handle all at once. "l-lil?" He stammers. Ryuk screams at Tonton. Sans wishes he had the strength to scream, but his health has been slowly slipping away ever since Tonton stabbed him in the back.

Frisk said she turned the collar off. Either she lied or she didn't know how. Whichever one it was, when he came back to help Lilith and tried to attack Tonton, his magic failed to react to his command. And Tonton wounded him. The natural karmic retribution in Sans's ichor eats away at his own wound, burning and aching with the weight of all his sins.

Sans looks to Ryuk; golden tears stream from their eyes, golden blood trickling from the cuts and gashes on their body, which knit together and scar with gold-veined onyx scales. Heh. He has to be hallucinating. Ryuk roars and twists to throw Cuina off themself, then scrambles to Lilith before Tonton can step forward to finish the job.

"heal her." Sans pleads quietly with the last of his strength. Lilith's blank sockets seem to pierce into his soul. "sorry, sis. guess i couldn't keep my promise again."

She says nothing, but he imagines her stomping her boot in frustrated fury, shouting, '_LAZYBONES!!_'. Heh. She always was the coolest.

Green fire flickers in Ryuk's obsidian-scaled muzzle. Tonton laughs and snaps Sans's neck before dropping him to the ground and striding forward.

Sans's head plops on the ground. The collar, having no neck to be around, blinks and deactivates. Heh. Sans is _ahead_ of the game, now. He summons his physical special attack, pushing all his magic into it with a myriad of coded orders, _defend-attack-obey-defend-attack-obey-defend-attack-obey-_

_ love-Love-LOVE-_

Sans sighs. He senses his soul, shivering, tearing apart at the seams, leaking yellow- _justice, how-_

_ ironic-_

* * *

Tears stream down your muzzle. Tonton aims a kick at you, but you grab Lilith and roll with her in your arms. You slip the shard out of her sternum with your talons, then breathe green flames into her wound. Golden tendrils flicker out with the emerald fire. Lilith gasps and her arms wrap around you. You set her down and turn to face Tonton. Cuina trembles by the wall, nearly stepping on Sans's detached head.

"You killed him!" Rage is a thousand war-drums beating in your muscles and bones.

"So what if I did, darling, I'm going to kill you and Lilith as well." Tonton purrs. Cuina screeches in terror as a massive dragon skeleton forms behind Tonton. Lilith screams as Sans's head and body shatter into dust, his grin permanently affixed to his skull to the very end.

"Not if I kill you first." Your body still morphs with the DT rushing through your veins, but you can't care about that, none of it matters if Lilith dies.

Tonton falters. You bare your fangs and roar at him. Orange fire bursts from your soul, blasting from your jaws. The massive draconic skeleton lets loose an energy blast. Tonton screams as his body blazes from both at once. Cuina screeches and leaps at you.

You bat ker away with your tail. Ke screams as Sans's attack switches targets to ker. "Hey, Socks, get the android!" You shout at it as Tonton flies up into the air, preparing an attack.

Electricity arcs from Tonton's hands. You leap in the way before it can hit Lilith. Pain clenches your muscles and burns in your chest, igniting a fire in your soul. You roar, jagged, yellow fire blazing from your lungs and striking Tonton. He howls and his rockets sputter as he falls out of the air. Socks snatches him in its jaws and shakes him.

You grab your haladie from the ground and storm towards Cuina, who screeches in terror and tries to flee. Grabbing ker by the wing, you slash cleanly across kis throat. Ke lets out a gurgling scream and falls to the ground, writhing.

Turning towards the battered Tonton and casting your wings wide, you part your jaws to blast him again with more fire. Movement from Lilith catches your attention, so you hold back. She struggles to her feet, her gaze dead with shock and frigid wrath, her talwar trembling in her hand. You gesture to Tonton, offering her the kill. It's her right as Sans's sister.

She strides past you. You follow her. Socks lowers Tonton to the floor. His wings have broken apart. His rockets have exploded. He's nearly dead. It won't take long to finish the job.

Tears slip down Lilith's cheekbones as she raises her talwar to the vinyl of Tonton's neck. Her free hand clenches. "I- I Can't-" 

Tonton sparks as he pleads, "Y-yes, da-a-arling k-killing me-e would be wro-ong, yo-ou shou-ouldn't ta-a-ake reve-e-enge-"

Lilith's jaws curve in a merciless, grim grin. "Oh. No, you fool." She says. Tonton misread her meaning. You understand that she doesn't want to live in a world without her brother. And there's no hope of wiping the slate clean with time nonsense. "Revenge is all I have left."

The talwar drives home in Tonton's neck. His eyes widen in terror as he writhes in agony, then he falls still, his lights fading.

"Get his dust." Lilith orders.

Taking Sans's jacket, you carefully gather up as much of the stubborn ass's dust as you can with your talons, stuffing it into the jacket pockets. The idiot should have obeyed Lilith's order to go with Frisk. Frisk should have known how to properly deactivate a suppression collar. You shouldn't have trusted Frisk to know how and you should have checked it yourself. If any of that had gone as it should have, Sans might not have died.

You rise to your feet and approach Lilith again, who just stares blankly at Tonton's lifeless husk. "Lilith." Lilith accepts your hand in hers and you gently pull her towards the exit. Socks follows. "Can't you be smaller?" You snap at it when it bumps its head on the lintel with a loud clang.

It whines miserably and then shrinks. And keeps shrinking. "Wait, stop!" You cry before it can get smaller than a big dog. It stops. "Uh, follow Lilith."

It trots to catch up with Lilith, who just keeps walking down the hall like a wraith. You follow and take her hand in your talons again to lead her to the hangar. Cold tears drip from your scaly chin. "Ryuk." Lilith's voice is listless and dull.

"Queen?"

"Whose fault." Her question lacks intonation.

"M-mine." Lilith might kill Frisk if you blamed her. She might break if you blamed Sans. You're the safest person to pin the blame on.

Lilith nods, her gaze lacking its usual vivid fire. You recall her words to you when you argued with her about resetting. She mentioned she used to kill herself to make Frisk reset if even one starma would die. Sans is far more important to her. You can't leave her side.

"No." Lilith says and you're confused for a moment after having been lost in thought. "Not yours." She clarifies.

You reach the hangar and lead Lilith inside, then choose the first space-worthy runabout you see. Frisk should have left already, if she's smart. Lilith collapses in a chair and buckles herself. Socks cuddles next to her. She pets its head, staring lifelessly into the distance. You give her Sans's jacket and she hugs it to her ribcage.

Buckling into the helm, you undo the mooring clamps before flying out of the airlock. The stars twinkle, distant and uncaring. The shrapnel of the _Liltha_ scatters about like so many leaves in a gust of wind. You have no home left. Lilith has no family left. The vast expanse opens up before you.

"Ryuk. I want you to drop me off on a planet. Then fly away and never look back." Lilith's voice still lacks intonation.

"But-"

"That's an _order_, soldier." She growls.

"N-no, we're not soldiers anymore." You keep flying steadily.

"Please." Her voice breaks as she sobs.

Recklessly, you bank the runabout to point towards the planet that Tonton's station orbits. "I'll wait for you."

"You can't."

"I'm waiting for you, so you don't have to kill yourself." You snap, tears blurring your vision. "Do what you need to, but I- I'll be there, waiting."

"Why??" All her desperation bleeds through the single word.

"Because I swore I wouldn't abandon you again."

Lilith sobs into Sans's jacket, her shoulders shaking. "Please just leave me." She begs, and it hurts to see her hurt so badly.

"N-no." The planet looms larger, and the runabout starts to shake as it breaches atmosphere. "I'm not abandoning you again."

Lilith laughs. It's a dark, mirthless sound, too close to wailing. "I might hurt you!"

"No, you won't."

"Y-yes, I- I will! S-Sans _died_ because of me! I don't want you to die, too!"

"Sans died because all three of us were idiots." You mumble. "You had nothing to do with it. And I don't want you to die either."

Lilith wails miserably. "Why??"

"Because _fuck_ gods and emperors and stars, I want you safe, Lilith! Okay?? So- so let me do this!" You sigh, struggling to not descend into sobbing as well. "If you really want me to leave you, if you can't- can't _stand_ my presence and want me gone, I- I'll leave you be. Please, Lilith."

She's silent for a long time. Then says, softly, "I want to perish."

"D-don't you dare. I- I won't let you." The runabout trembles and shudders as it falls through the air to the savanna below. 

"I want to." 

"I love you, okay??" 

She's quiet except for miserable broken sobbing. But you know she doesn't need to say it back for it to be true.


	42. Igniting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it.
> 
> (I came back to separate the massive arc-long chapters into easier-to-digest chapters, thus the update. I may update again with a sneak-peek of the original work based on this story).

MK paces nervously in the back room, dressed in a suit and tie. Cheering sounds from the atrium outside. That's his cue. He checks himself in a mirror one last time, then grins and grabs his green scarf, throwing it over his shoulders.

When he skips out of the room, everyone stands up from their seats. He sees Luon emerging from the opposite side and his muzzle heats. Luon looks absolutely amazing. The deep blue of his tunic sets off the shiny copper of his scales as he slithers towards the dais in the center.

It's taken years to finally get to this point. After the destruction of the empire, numerous splinters formed. MK helps out as a senator to one of these. Luon works as a scientist for the KOR, the intra-galactic peacekeeping committee. And now, finally, with free time opening up on both their hands, they can get married.

MK bounces with excitement as he skips up the stairs of the dais. This is the best day ever.

* * *

Not far away, on a lovely little planet of her own, Undyne wipes a tear from her eye as Ross's ship rockets up through the atmosphere, headed to college. He's grown up so fast. Alphys would be proud of him.

Marcella holds Undyne's hand and rests her head on Undyne's shoulder. "He'll do great."

"Fuhuhu, fuck yeah."

* * *

Bracken and Chara lean on each other as they play old video games. Frisk stares out the window into the stars, twisting her braid as she thinks back on old times. For the last time, she wonders if there was anything she could have done differently to make sure Lilith, Ryuk, and Sans got out alive. Then Chara calls her over, and the regretful reverie ends, never to be returned to.

* * *

The sun sets over the sparkling violet waves, setting the blue sand alight as the algaes' glow begins to blaze in the darkness. A young child laughs as he runs across the beach, leaving bright tracks behind. He trips and falls, then pops up to his feet again and grins back at the house hidden in the thick woods.

"Ergo, get back here, it's getting dark!" Mommy calls with affectionate frustration in her tone. Ergo spins and dips his arms, pretending he's a starship, before running back.

He trips over the threshold and Mommy catches him in her arms, then brushes the sand off of him. "Thanks!" Ergo hugs her, then wiggles out of her arms to go play games with his plushies.

The stranger watches from the corner, tapping their talons nervously. Ergo grins at them. "Wanna play?"

"Uh- sure, yeah." They drop to the floor. Ergo forgets their name, but they visited this afternoon, looking for Mother. Mommy said they could wait for Mother to get out of work.

"Do those work?" Ergo gestures to their wings. He has wings, too, but they're still too small to carry him yet.

The stranger stretches their wings out and their fangs bare in a grin. "Yep."

Mommy looks into the room and smiles at Ergo, who shoos her away, busily ordering his plushies into battle formation. Mommy got upset at Mother when Mother started teaching Ergo strategy and tactics, so Ergo doesn't know much, but he wants to convince Mother to sneakily teach him more.

The back door slides open with a hiss, heralding Mother's arrival home. Ergo gets up and runs out to her. "Mother! A visitor came for you!"

Mother looks to Mommy, who nods with a knowing smile. "A Visitor, Hm?" Mother says. 

"Yeah! Mommy said you might kiss them! Are you going to kiss them??" Ergo demands, stomping his foot petulantly.

"Not if you don't want me to." Mother says, smirking slightly and looking at somebody over Ergo's head. Ergo glances back and sees the stranger staring at Mother like she's a ghost.

"L-Lilith?"

"Yes?" Mother replies with a note of wistful playfulness in her voice.

The stranger wrings their talons. "I- I waited."

"I know."

"I got your message and- and I couldn't wait any longer, I had to see you, I- I had to-"

"I know." Mother steps past Ergo and approaches the stranger. "I'm sorry for keeping you away for so long, Ryuk. Thank you for giving me time."

"Heh, I- I got a few kids too. Chief Caretaker of the Motley Brick Orphanage." Ryuk chuckles, but Ergo sees tears trickling down their muzzle.

"I know, Ryuk. I almost- I almost visited."

"Why didn't you?"

"It was too soon. I couldn't handle seeing another reminder of- of him." Mother's crying now, too. Ergo looks at Mommy, but she's just smiling silently, letting Mother hug Ryuk.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save him, too." Ryuk's wings and tail wrap around Mother. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you heal. I'm so sorry, Lilith, that I was never- never enough for you!"

"Shh." Mother croons. "You shouldn't expect yourself to be my only pillar, Ryuk, that's not healthy for either of us. I'm incredibly grateful that you loved me enough to give me some time."

Ryuk just sobs, nuzzling their muzzle into the thick fluffy jacket Mother's always wearing. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." Mother rests her skull on the red silk scarf around Ryuk's neck.

"Well?? Kiss them already!!" Ergo's tail lashes impatiently. He wants to see romance, already! Mommy and Mother are so domestic all the time with their romantic gestures, and Mommy gets to kiss other people, so Ergo doesn't see why Mother hasn't kissed Ryuk yet.

Mother looks at Mommy, who smiles. "Really, Lilith," Mommy says, "Ergo's right, if you want to kiss them, go ahead. I've already given my blessing."

"May I?" Mother asks Ryuk.

"Please."

"Will you stay?"

Ryuk smirks and nuzzles Mother's jaws. "_Duh_."

* * *

5/20: I finished it. I actually finished. This has been so much fun to write. And, for now, it's over. Maybe I'll turn it into an original work if I ever get the gumption for a third draft.

I never really knew what the story was about. I was just discovering it on the way. It's not the best ever, but I hope it was at least enjoyable. And I think I know what it's about, now. I think-- and this is just my personal interpretation, you're free to have your own-- that it's a story about reconciliation and dethroning gods.

Welp, anyway, now it's time to move on to my next dream.

<strike>Edit 6/16/20: This story is shit and I'm shit and I don't fucking care anymore. Criticize it all you want, tear it to pieces, tear me to pieces, rip me apart, I don't care, nobody cares.</strike>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks.
> 
> Edit 6/18?/20: Thank you for your wonderful comments. There are worse and more important things going on in the world right now than one author's depressive episodes, but thank you for caring enough to share your kind words. 
> 
> I'm working on creating an original story based on this. It's going to be a three-volume novel (that's what my mom calls trilogies, lol), and hopefully it'll be way better than this!! I'll do my best!! The series will be called "Astrum Ignescere".
> 
> I'll be updating my discord server with information on request, so if anybody's interested in finding out more about the world or the story, feel free to join and ask. 
> 
> https://discord.gg/FVu64z6
> 
> Edit 07/31/20: Wowie, 2020 is a shit year for everyone. Donate to BLM and ACLU if you can, make sure to fight back against all forms of racism and bigotry, and let's defeat the world together. 
> 
> I'm always waffling back and forth on whether or not I think I'm a good writer. I'm technically fine, but my storytelling leaves much to be desired. I'm still learning and improving, and thanks to all my lovely commenters who gave feedback on this story and others (but mostly thanks to my betareaders and friends), I'm finally attempting to write an original work. 
> 
> It's based on this story, in this world, but with many major changes and shifts. I'm excited to see where it goes. Thanks, y'all.


	43. (Redacted Future) Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! This is both a ploy to get more people to read this story, and a teaser for the original works I'm writing ;p 
> 
> This is the discarded prologue for my first book. ;p

PROLOGUE

==Republic Standard Time (RST) 9027, Fourth Trial; Ryuk==

Ask any stowaway or hitchhiker on a starship what their worst fear is and the answer will generally be the same. The airlock. The click of the lock, the flashing alarm, the cloying scent of magnolia, and the sudden suction as the outer door opens, flinging the culprit into the vacuum of space, which inevitably boils blood or freezes ichor, depending on the species. They rank third, perhaps even fourth, on Ryuk's list of worst fears. But maybe airlocks should be Ryuk's biggest concern right now, since they're about to be thrown into one.

"Wait, wait, you don't wanna ice me!" Ryuk struggles against the restraints around their wrists and neck. "A crow's gotta keep the kittenblitzers fed, neh?" Their slang flies over the extravagantly dressed myren's head, which is a pretty impressive feat considering the looming, broad-scaled insectivore has to be at least ten feet tall.

The myren makes a grand gesture, raising his long-clawed paw in the air. "This scalawag has been charged with smuggling drugs onto the wondrous _Westerly_." The myren pontificates in the common language of the Republic, smacking Ryuk over the head.

"Ow, _k'yon_!" Ryuk ducks too late, receiving a zap from the restraints for the quick movement. "That ain't a crow- uh, that wasn't me!" They drop the slang in the vain hope their guard will be more forgiving. He's not an officer, thankfully, only a starma, so they have a chance.

The myren glances down with a stern glare. "That horrid alcohol, eighteen bottles of it, and that mangy bug-ridden _beast_ came on board with you, did they not?" What a thick, dry dick. _Koyon_ fits him.

"D-don't pokkin' hurt Dominic, ya kit'nblitzer!" Ryuk yelps again as their baleful guard shoves them down the hall to where the airlock door looms on the floor. "Please, let me go! I won't be troublesome!"

"You've already caused enough mischief, _scalawag_." The myren shoves them again. Ryuk stumbles, then ducks and swings around behind the myren, kicking the base of his long tail and ignoring the zaps of their restraints. He yelps and staggers forward over the airlock door.

Ryuk rams their shoulder against the lever on the wall to manually open the inner door. The myren falls in with a furious shout. Ryuk leans over the edge, smirking. "Snap the mags, koyon, and a crow'll let ya out."

The myren slams a claw down on a series of buttons on the tech-band around his arm. Ryuk's restraints hiss and pop off. "Let me out, now, you scurrilous scoundrel." Their former guard demands. Ryuk shrugs and backs away. "Oi!! Come back here!!"

"Nah." Ryuk spins and races down the hall. The myren will manage to get out eventually, and he'll call for help. Ryuk needs to get off the _Westerly_ before that happens.

They duck into a grate leading to the maintenance tunnels that run throughout the ship, colloquially known as the ants-nest. Dominic meows and sashays between their legs. Ryuk giggles and snatches him up, wrapping him in their hoodie.

When they reach the hangar, they peek out of the grate at the spread of fighter-class drones and shuttles. The carrier they're on, the _Westerly_, is one of a fleet of fifty-three starships. Ryuk has hopped between forty-five of these starships over a period of three years. The _Westerly _makes forty-six. They're running out of options.

Ryuk slinks to a small shuttlepod and checks inside to make sure there's no guards. They hear a shout by the main entrance, so they duck inside and close the hatch. Dominic leaps into a seat and primly sits still for Ryuk to buckle him in. The straps are made to fit any shape or size or number of limbs, since the Republic controls multiple nations of different species. Dominic meows at the growing shouts and Ryuk nods to him, jittery with irritation that the guards found them so fast.

The shuttlepod was designed for three or more passengers, but requires only one pilot. Ryuk's practically a professional at this, since they've had to escape from so many starships. They buckle themself into the helm and send orders to the _Westerly'_s core computer to detach the mooring clamps and open the inner airlock door. Nothing happens. "Blitzin' slok!!" Without the computer's help, their other options are to go out and manually detach the clamps, or try to break free with the shuttlepod's thrusters.

The hatch shudders as a large body slams against the outside. Ryuk winces; breaking free seems to be the only choice. They grab the helm joysticks and flick the thruster power up a few notches. The hull groans, then the clamps crack and the shuttlepod leaps upwards.

One more problem; the airlock's inner door has closed. Ryuk doesn't want to kill anybody, so they can't get through it with sheer force. They patch a coms channel through to the bridge of the _Westerly_. "Who is this?? You are on an official channel, so speak up!" The Captain, one of those stuffy Uilodh, grunts through the transceiver.

"Order your pokkin' starmas to unlock the hangar or I'll ice them all!" Ryuk bluffs and starts for the airlock.

"Ah, fine, but we'll shoot you down as soon as you leave."

"A crow ain't a peacock." Ryuk scoffs. The large carrier will have a hard time shooting down a small vessel such as theirs.

"Perhaps not." The Captain replies with a smirk in her voice, and Ryuk notices with a dreadful sinking in their gut that the drones in the hangar have begun to stir. "But all I need is one good shot."

The inner airlock door opens. Ryuk enters it. It closes. The drones don't have to follow the same sequence. They have special launch ports. The outer airlock door opens. Ryuk slams the throttle into full power and spins away from the _Westerly_.

In space, all directions are relative to a chosen focal point. For Ryuk, the _Westerly_ is down. Their shuttlepod climbs higher and higher, but a swarm of drones forms outside the _Westerly_'s three hangar bays and fires on Ryuk's shuttlepod. Ryuk yelps and darts into a spiraling diagonal. They scan the names of starships as they dip around and between the massive crafts. The drones steadily catch up, a horde of little yellow lights blinking on the scanner.

The shuttlepod trembles as a spray of explosive bullets hits the thrusters. "Macal!" Ryuk desperately dives under a starship and circles around it. They can't seem to find one where they haven't already gotten the death sentence for merely existing. Macal, bad luck, barely even begins to describe their predicament.

The drones don't dare shoot while Ryuk is so close to any other ship, so Ryuk scuttles from starship to starship, begging fate for one last chance, for one last hope of survival, for one faint glimmer of macal's opposite, cana.

They spot an outlier. A dreadnought, separated from the rest of the fleet by at least five thousand kilometers. Ryuk glances back at the scanner. The drones have scattered, searching for them, lying in wait.

Taking a deep breath, Ryuk holds it in, then lets it out as a hiss between their teeth. "Ready?" They ask Dominic. He just meows patiently and licks a paw. "_Ha_." Ryuk exhales sharply, their hands trembling on the controls, their smooth skin too constrictive. Three years. Three years away from _her_. They can't die now.

The shuttlepod leaps out of cover, darting across the expanse between death and potential safety. Ryuk hails the starship, a last resort they've never had to take before now. "This is- this is the shuttlepod _Cara Mia_, begging for safe entrance!" Ryuk cries. The _Cara Mia_ shudders as she's hit with an electromagnetic sticky-net. "Pokkin' slok!" The weapon, a saint, interferes with the shuttlepod's systems, causing her to sputter and glitch.

"What're ya running from?" The lazy rumble over the transceiver sounds too delighted about Ryuk's helplessness to be any sort of friend.

"What's it blitzin' look like?? Death, ya pokkin' koyon!" Ryuk sends the _Cara Mia_ into a spinning dive for the starship. "Please!"

"How about I make a deal with ya, kiddo. A little quid pro quo." 

"Anything!" Ryuk yelps as the saint around the _Cara Mia _digs deeper and starts to shut down the systems.

"Heh. Okay. You can shake my hand when yer on board the _Riltha_."

"Za!" Ryuk spits the verbal salute, thinking, _old-fashioned fart_. They don't dare say it out loud. The _Riltha'_s hangar bay opens, a red light blazing from inside. The pursuing drones stop short, as though they've met an invisible barrier. Ryuk laughs, giddy with relief. Dominic meows happily.

The _Cara Mia_ limps into the airlock, and the outer door closes behind her. The inner door opens. The _Cara Mia_ lands lightly in an empty bay. The mooring clamps lock onto her.

The hatch opens without a command from Ryuk. They unbuckle themself before freeing Dominic. He mews and leaps down, shaking his fluffy, blue-striped fur out. "Welp, you didn't mention a cat." Ryuk's rescuer says, stepping inside the shuttlepod. His voice sounds slightly distorted around the Republic Common. "That sweetens the deal." 

Nervousness and relief makes Ryuk laugh, but they choke on the ship's thick atmosphere. Their lungs always take half a minute to adjust to new starships, but they're one of the lucky few who can adapt so fast. "How'd a rat like you get down here so fast??"

The chubby, old man shrugs. He looks Adani, with his pale, grey fur and twin tails curling behind his back. But something feels off about him. The way he moves, maybe, like his appearance is half a step behind his actual self. Ryuk suspects he's actually Sedryn, since they're forced to wear glamours by the Uilodh due to their supposedly frightening appearances. "I was here when ya called." He scratches the base of his tails. Ryuk restrains a disgusted sniff. "Now, the deal is, we need a couple jobs done on this ship, and my bro's too proud to ask for transfers from another ship."

"A crow'll do whatever." Ryuk grabs Dominic from the floor before the cat can pounce on the trailing end of a buckle. "What's to be done?"

"Heh, not even gonna introduce yerself?"

They blep at the old fart. "I'm Ryuk."

"Ergo. Commander Ergo Obcido." He smiles and holds out his hand.

Ryuk takes it with their free hand, then lets go, wiping their palm on their combat shorts. "Commander?"

"C'mon, kiddo. Let's get ya settled in."


	44. (Redacted Future) One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was my birthday yesterday, yay! C:

==RST 9030, Second Trial; Ryuk==

The ambient lights flash orange, the sharp scent of juniper permeates the air, and a whistle blares through the hall. Ryuk wrenches open a panel in the wall and yanks out the harness as the few starmas still lingering stride for their stations. The harness keeps Ryuk on their feet as the _Riltha_ dives into evasive maneuvers, but one of the remaining starmas flails as he's thrown against the wall, barely hanging on as he activates his mag-boots. Ryuk glances at the accompanying helmet, but they don't particularly want to take the hairstick out of their top-knot.

The _Riltha_ shudders under a plasma blast, inertia yanking Ryuk in multiple directions. They fumble to slip their hairstick into a pocket, then pull their helmet on, gasping in the chemically augmented air. Trace amounts of depressants calm their nerves and steady the relentless _thump-thump _of their heart caught in their throat.

They know that the _Riltha_, a Manta-class dreadnought, boasts six fusion-core engines and over fifty weapons, including plasma cannons, massive railguns, lasers, and grapplers. Her captain has the bad reputation of being too good at his job, absolutely crushing his enemies before the rest of the fleet can get any chance to claim glory, and never taking a break. Yet, even after three years on the _Riltha_, Ryuk still feels sick with anxiety that this battle could be the last.

Anything could happen. Anything could kill them. Asteroids could collide around the _Riltha_. Her engines could be hit, made to explode, sucking her habitants out into the merciless void. She could be boarded, the starmas massacred, the officers captured, and her systems stripped for valuable resources. In the last case, however, Ryuk might have a chance to live if they join the enemy. They'd bring Dominic, of course. They don't have to worry about him during battle, since he's a cat and therefore has innate control over his own gravitational inclinations.

The eerily silent halls echo with Ryuk's growl. Their skin feels too tight again, so they close their eyes and pretend to shed it. Wings unfurl from their shoulder-blades, a tail lashes their legs, and sleek onyx scales bloom from their flesh. But only in their mind. Irritated by the failure of reality to bend to their will, Ryuk opens their eyes again and grinds their teeth.

There's no viewports where they are, only the crazy gravity and rumbling shudders to hint to the outside events. Ryuk doesn't dare release the harness. They grip the hairstick in their pocket, tracing the curling decor of the metal. The mural of a tiger creeping through a Martian forest stares back at them from the opposite wall. Ryuk's panic never proves correct. In time, the battle will end and Ryuk will be able to return to work.

The inertia steadies out and the ambient lights flare burgundy. Ryuk tears their helmet off just in time to enjoy the pervasive scent of lilacs signaling the starfight's end. They grin, their fear fading into relief. Starmas trickle back into the halls as the battle ends. After unbuckling, Ryuk puts their hair back up, piercing their topknot with the hairstick. 

"Oi, Ryuk!" An adani starma hails them with a smack to their shoulder as she passes, her brown eyes crinkling. "What's a dove gotta do for dinner?"

"Pok, Dahlia, ya could give a crow some kissin'." Ryuk laughs.

Dahlia sends a crude gesture their way, the flicking of her red-furred tails betraying her amusement. "Cute, but it ain't ghost yet."

"Neh, who said pests have to wait til ghost, mihak??" Ryuk blows a kiss. The third shift of the thirty-hour day, ghost, generally has the smallest crew on duty, leaving more room for leisure. Officers penalize fraternization if they catch it happening, but there's always been a quiet underbelly of starmas trading privileges or food for sex and drugs.

Dahlia gives a dismissive chuckle as she strides away. "A dove'll fuck ya later, mihux." Ryuk grins at the enby term for comrade. Mom never acknowledged their gender, so it feels good to be among friends who do. 

"Fuck ya later, candy-gaze." Ryuk stretches their arms and yawns. They've got work to do, so they head to the mess hall to help with dinner for bane, second shift.

The three mess halls rest in the middle ring. Bane Mess, thankfully, is currently closest to Ryuk's position in the innermost ring. They slip into a chute to get to the next ring out, and glide along the ladder. Their eyes scrunch closed to avoid the sight of the asteroids floating outside the transparent metal tube.

Ryuk's head slams against something hard and they yelp as they're sent flying, but they manage to cling to the ladder before they can hit the wall. "Oi, _k'yon_!" Ryuk opens their eyes to glare at the rude starma, only to meet the fury of a heavily decorated officer. "H-hey," They say with an uncertain smile, wishing their features were even half as intimidating as the skeletal being facing them. 

"Out of my way." The officer snarls, looming over Ryuk.

Ryuk gulps, staring at his spider-silk webbed wings, jealousy stirring in their chest. They bare their teeth like innocent fangs. "A crow's here first."

"What??" The sedryn officer splutters, his waspish jaws parting with an enraged scowl as the indigo lights in his eyesockets blaze. "Move your pathetic ass!" He'd be attractive if it weren't for his bilge-sloch personality.

"Blitzin' never for a pokkish zank as ya."Ryuk's eyes drop down past the officer's blue scarf, down his gold and black tunic-uniform, down to the trailing tentacles writhing and clenching around the ladder behind his stylish high-heeled boots. His ivory exoskeloton rattles, a macabre and frightening sound, and Ryuk realizes it probably isn't a good idea to piss off every hell-bitch they come across. Ergo can only do so much damage control. Someone might discover Ryuk's stowaway status, and then _vwip_, out the airlock. "Eh, sorry."

The asshole sneers. "Fuck off before I skewer you and feed you to the fusion cores!" Ryuk swings to the side, closing their eyes again. The asteroids outside could crush the _Riltha_ with one wrong move. The asshole scoffs as he passes them. "Grow a fucking spine, soldier." 

"_Preet_." Ryuk growls under their breath. They refuse to take shit from any stinking pompous zankil, especially after they stowed away just to escape the authority of one in particular: their mom. Ryuk clambers back onto the rungs, eyes still closed. Their boots bump against the asshole's tentacles.

His furious snarl sounds much scarier than their puny growl. Ryuk yelps and scrambles across the ladder, propelling themself towards the hatch at the other end. "That's right, run!" The asshole cries after them. "I don't want to see yer fuckin' utati smirk again! Ever!!"

More impressed by the officer's slang than offended-- they never expected an officer to know the dirty word for _asshole_, or cloaca-- Ryuk still can't resist getting the last word as they pause and turn right before reaching the hatch. "Neh, go eat yer _zank-slok_. Preet." They slip out of the hatch and slam it closed before the asshole can decide to chase after them. Hysterical laughter bubbles up from their chest as they skip up the hall. It's definitely not a first, but the euphoria of pissing off officers and escaping to tell the tale never gets old.

When Ryuk reaches Bane Mess, they slip into the kitchen and join the six other starmas cooking for the entire shift. "About time!" The myren head chef complains. Everyone calls him Fred, cause he's short for a myren, only seven feet. He hates it.

"Cut some slack, Fred," Ryuk retorts, "Pokkish zank un-glammed sedryn crashed me in the chute." Hellish cunt quickly became their new favorite insult for officers after they first learned it from Fred.

Fred's broad, grey-brown scales scrape together as they flatten nervously. "Go check the snail-ice." He turns away, his tail nearly sweeping Ryuk off their feet.

"Za, but what slok's got ya so silky?"

Fred glares at Ryuk, his long claws twitching, and doesn't even mock Ryuk for their accented pronunciation of _sloch_, the catch-all term for waste. Ryuk never could get the throaty sound right. "Only un-glammed sedryn on the _Riltha_'s the Cap'n, and yer a pokkin' preet fer pissing him off."

The urge to vomit nearly overcomes Ryuk. They swallow back the bile in their throat, swaying dizzily. "Eh- neh, he ain't gonna ice a crow, is- is he?"

"Check the snail-ice." Fred waves a claw at the walk-in freezer, and doesn't answer. "Yer pokkin' cat's been nommin' them."

"Za." Ryuk manages to choke out the salute, then stumbles through the kitchen to the freezer. Just their luck, they managed to piss off the Captain of the entire starship. Not even Commander Ergo will be able to save their ass this time. Unless- An idea trickles forward. Unless the Captain gets so busy dealing with some other shit that he completely forgets about encountering Ryuk.

The Captain has a bad reputation of being too good at his job, after all. All Ryuk needs to do is stir unrest amidst the starmas, who haven't had a furlough since the start of the fleet's campaign six years ago. Ryuk knows most starmas who work during bane and ghost, and they're sure they can get a few from the glen shift to join the mutiny as well. It's a bitchy maneuver, but it's all they've got.

They grin as they inspect the ice wall covered in foot-long snails and inch-round snail eggs. Myrenil eat the snails to stave off a certain vitamin deficiency. The snails seem healthy enough, so they pluck an egg and nibble at it before turning to go back to the kitchen.

Ergo stops Ryuk in their tracks. He has an uncanny way of showing up in places he shouldn't be. Ryuk scowls at him. Ergo grins back. "Hey, kid."

"Blitz yerself." Ryuk crosses their arms petulantly. "A crow'd accept an apology, or send ya to pok, k'yon-slok."

"you're forgiven. anyway-"

"No! You apologize!" Ryuk gestures wildly with the snail egg. Ergo snatches it and pops it into his mouth. Ryuk can only stare at him, aghast. "You got no clue how hard it is to get biogel out of cloth, do you??" Ryuk loses most of the starma accent they've worked so hard to cultivate, pissed as pok and scared they won't last another day.

"As I recall, you started this war." Ergo's tone stays solemn, even as the grey eyes of his glamour twinkle with sadism.

It's true Ryuk stole Ergo's favorite cane and hid it for a week as a prank, but that didn't make it okay for him to retaliate by dumping their favorite jacket into one of the tanks running through the third ring. Biogel helps to filter the air and does other atmospheric things, but it's basically slime. "And I plan to end it!" Ryuk huffs, soothed by the way their breath plumes and curls about like smoke, like dragon's breath.

"Heh." Ergo says with a grin. The old fart-ass sedryn never lets his glamour down, so Ryuk has no idea what his true form is. Probably a slime. He's a slob, so it wouldn't surprise them. "Okay. I've got a favor to ask."

"Yeah??" It's just going to be another boring prank like toothpicks in an officer's seat, again. Ryuk appreciates Ergo covering their existence up and keeping the officers off their back, but they wish he'd be a little more original.

"Distract my bro for a bit, there's a good kid." Ergo pats Ryuk's head. Ryuk hisses and bats his hand away before he can mess up their topknot. "He's been real stressed lately. A little japery might help loosen him up."

The proposition actually sounds like fun, or it would if Ryuk had any clue at all who Ergo's brother even is, even for all Ergo's boasts about the mystery sibling. "Not a pokkin' kid." Ryuk flashes a rude gesture at Ergo. "But za. How's he appear?"

"A bit like this." Ergo shrugs and the glamour glitches for an instant, revealing himself just long enough for the image to burn into Ryuk's sight. Unfortunately, he's not a slime, and the similarities to the Captain are unmistakable: tentacles, ivory exoskeleton, and expressive insectoid skull. No wings, though, and no legs, and he's a damn ugly koyon, nothing compared to the regal beauty of the Captain.

"Neh, that bilge-slo' zank??" Ryuk laughs to loosen the vines of terror blooming in their chest, then realizes their mistake too late as a sharp tentacle whips past their cheek and shatters the wall of snail-ice.

"Wanna say that again?" Ergo says in a light, almost friendly, tone.

"No! No, sir!" Ryuk copies a starma salute, stiffening.

"Smart kid." Ergo's glamour reactivates and the menace evaporates, letting Ryuk relax. It's sometimes easy to forget Ergo is a high-ranking officer. "You've seen Julius?"

"We met." Ryuk almost grimaces, but pastes on a fake smile instead. At least they've got a name for the pokkish zank, now.

"Clean that up, kiddo." Ergo gestures to the shards of ice and snails scattered across the floor. Ryuk's smile drops into a glower, but they kneel to obey. Ergo leaves, an annoying smirk on his face.

Ergo wants a distraction for his preet brother, so Ryuk will cause the most disruptive distraction ever. Mutiny will collapse two mainframes with one virus.

Ryuk skips back into the kitchen when they're done freezing the ice wall back together. They stop and muffle a squeal of adoration at the sight of Fred sneaking Dominic a scrap of fish. Getting their mihok Fred to join the mutiny won't be hard at all, since they'd only have to threaten to tell everyone of his secret fondness for the ship's cat.


	45. (Redacted Future) Two

==RST 9030, Second Trial; Julius==

The orders from Admiral Arakdu float in stiff holographic detail above Captain Julius's desk as he paces, fists clenched and fury burning through his soul. His first-mate, dressed in the blue and gold uniform of the Navigation division, waits patiently. Julius slams a gloved fist on the wall. "What in the high blazing stars are they _thinking_??"

"Unknown, sir." The _Riltha_'s officers are used to Julius's angry outbursts. He glances at his first-mate's name-tag. K'talla; they're a girl today. He crushes the thorny vine of jealousy threatening to suffocate him.

"We can't keep fighting nonstop like this, bero." Julius scoffs bitterly. His commanding officer is a preetish koyon of the filthiest kind. An idiot and a dick, the worst combination.

"Agreed, but orders are orders," Commander K'talla's mandibles chitter in tired annoyance.

"Fuck orders." Julius whips three tentacles across the wall, longing to crush something. "Do you honestly think my crew will keep on going without a single furlough for even _six_ more months??" This is all that brash insubordinate starma's fault. If Julius hadn't been delayed in the chute, he wouldn't have missed the Admiral's call and he would've been able to argue for leniency.

K'talla meets his glare with shiny black eyespots, her iridescent green shell-wings rustling on her back. Julius believes the beetle-type garthaglew is pretty, in a professional, detached, _jealous_ sort of way. The golden stripes of makeup under her eyespots only accentuate her natural beauty. "Sir, I'm sure Admiral Arakdu will grant a furlough when he thinks we've earned one."

That was not what Julius wanted to hear. He lets out a visceral growl, rattling his bones. K'talla flinches, ducking her head into her thorax. Immediate regret nearly douses his rage, but he holds onto the blaze in his soul. "Earned One??" Julius hisses. "We've been doing the fleet's dirty work, being Arakdu's dogs, for six fucking years!!"

"Correct, sir." The hint of anger beneath K'talla's calm tone soothes Julius. "There are other ships in the fleet who have been campaigning for longer without furlough. The Admiral doesn't consider your request to be fair to them."

"Fair??Bero, we've been on the front lines of every battle, risking our lives more than any of those lazy-ass zankil!" Julius snarls, walling off a wail of frustration. Soulscreams are weak. Julius can't afford to be weak.

"What choice do we have?"

One answer tempts Julius. _Mutiny_. If he rebelled, though, Admiral Arakdu would utterly destroy his ship and massacre his crew. Julius growls again, longing to slash his talwar through the meaty uilodh admiral, whose stupid beak sits amidst the holographic orders. "We obey." The concession may be hard to make, but it's his only option. "After this next mission, I will request furlough again." Julius despises begging. But the survival and health of his starmas and officers is marginally more important than his pride.

"Understood, sir. I'll ready the officers." K'talla salutes with a clenched claw over her thorax before leaving the office.

As soon as the door closes behind her, Julius lets out a furious shriek, spinning to punch the wall as his wings flare out. The plating clangs under his gloved fist, which stings as the force jolts up his arm. _Damn_ the Admiral, who just sits in his flagship in the center of the fleet, passing life-or-death sentences like his captains are dogs; _damn_ the stuffy arrogant Uilodhil; _damn_ those who support them, _damn them all to pok_! Mrafi's plasma, _Okumo_ would have been more reasonable. But _no_, Arakdu has to be a pretentious, preening _preet_ who touts his rationality and elegance as superior and sneers at frivolous things like feelings. _Pokking koyon-sloch_, Julius snarls bitterly in the silence of his own thoughts.

He has never been good at bottling his emotions. Barely able to control the fire in his bones, he focuses on not destroying any of his equipment or paperwork. He'd visited a therapist after the Sedryn-Adani War ended, but they refused to see him after one visit, saying that he was too arrogant to accept help. Preposterous. Julius never needed help in the first place. The only good thing to come out of that whole debacle was the coping mechanism of counting to ten and breathing deeply in and out, which Julius does as his exoskeleton rattles. When he's counted to ten about thirteen times, he's mostly calm and collected again.

He catches a glimpse of his reflection on a trophy; irritated, he nearly loses his composure all over again. He scoffs and folds his wings back.

Stomping out onto the bridge, Julius nods to his officers as they stand at attention. "At ease!" He scans them with a scowl. K'talla has gone back to her station to chart a course and plan out new evasive maneuvers for the helm to implement.

Julius adjusts his scarf, which used to belong to his mother. The beautiful blue silk offers comfort, grounding him against his frustrated rage. He throws a hand out in a dramatic gesture. "Ensign Jazz, set a course for Kavros!" He turns, still scowling. "Lieutenant Dexi, relay mission orders ship-wide."

Jazz salutes, her two tails curling as she forces a grin. Dexi's warm, starry eyes glitter with concern as she copies the gesture. "Za." The empathic cruir's appearance of a massively complex nervous system underneath a translucent shell of flesh might be seen as eerie, especially by Uilodh standards, but Julius considers her lovely. He knows she can sense the dark storm in his ribcage, as the nerves nearest her skin glow pink with pity.

Julius ignores her concern. She'd only suggest seeing the counselor. Julius doesn't know who the counselor on the _Riltha_ is, and he doesn't care. He's fine. Everything is fine.

Dexi glides past him and taps his shoulder with a gentle limb. Cold spreads through his bones from the touch and he relaxes as the beast in his soul calms, granting temporary peace. Julius doesn't acknowledge her kindness. He can't afford to be weak.


	46. (Redacted Future) Three

**==RST 9030, Third Trial; Ryuk==**

"Blitzin' sloch, these koyonil fuck us pests through the utati an' we can't pokkin' take anymore!!" A myren cries, sandy-brown scales flaring as her broad tail curls. Her half-eaten snail tries to crawl off the plate, so she snatches it in her claws and tears its head off.

"The Cap'n's doin' his darndest to make the Admiral give us furlough!" Another starma pipes up.

"Damn that preet." The myren grumbles. "He ain't doin' all he could, pokkin' koyon. He ain't a mihok to any'a us!"

The unrest boils over in the Ghost Mess as the third shift eats and complains. Ryuk leans on the counter in the kitchen, listening to the growing rage as they smirk to themself and pet Dominic. They can feel the pulse of the starship begging for a snap, and all it would take now is a single catalyst for mutiny to break out. Dominic purrs. The head cooks of Ghost don't care if he gets on the counter, since he's a clean cat. He has a litter box in the horticulture bay and he always washes his paws. 

Ryuk spins and hops into the mess hall, waving their hands for attention. "Oi, pests! Mihokil, mihakil, an' mihuxil! My friends!" They grin. Dominic meows angrily behind them as his pats have ceased. "A crow's got an idea!"

"What's that?" An adani starma calls, shushing the din of arguments.

"Well." Ryuk bares their teeth, feeling their nonexistent wings flare behind their back. "The problem is the pokkin' Admiral, neh?"

"Yeah?" The myren who started the outcries says. "So what?? Our preet Captain ain't doing bilge-sloch!" 

"What if us pests, eh, did some _charity work_ on the _Riltha_." Ryuk spreads their hands in a wide gesture, ignoring the cat sashaying between their legs. "I bet the Admiral'd be forced to let us take a break to repair on a nice planet if, say, we _crash_-_landed_ there."

Silence meets Ryuk's proposal. It doesn't last long. Mutters of consideration, and then of agreement, rise and grow steadily louder. "I know helm!" Another myren says.

A cruir, his nerves glowing rosy with excited pride, says, "A rat works in Nav-div, I can find a good one and chart a course!"

"An' all ya pests gotta be ready to fight our way in!" Ryuk cries, punching the air. "We'll take control of helm during Ghost, we'll trap the Captain in his quarters, and we'll _force_ those bastards to let us take a pokkin' break!"

Cheers meet the declaration with an excited voracity that threatens to consume the last remnants of good sense remaining in the tired starmas. A few starmas sneak out the back, silently declaring their disapproval. They won't tattle, though. The social repercussions would last years if any dared betray the mob. Ryuk grins and hollers over the din, "We'll teach'em a blitzin' lesson!"

"_Za_!!" The mob roars.

Ryuk realizes belatedly that none of the starmas will be willing to wait a few days, much less a few weeks, fired up into a feverish state as they all are. They're going to have to enact the plan right now. Good thing Ryuk's always considered themself excellent at improvisation. They pick up Dominic in obedience to the little tyrant's vocal demands and smirk as they stroke his soft fur.

**==RST 9030, Third Trial; Julius==**

The last mission nearly cost Julius several starmas and depleted most of the _Riltha'_s plasma torpedo reserves. He really does try to not chew out his officers too badly, since they all tried their best, but he's as tired of this shit as they are. Lieutenant-Commander Artemis, Julius's favorite tactics officer, bears the brunt of the harsh scolding, as it was her mistake that would have gotten an entire ring blown up if it weren't for Julius's quick thinking and for Lieutenant Jazz's notoriously steady hand on the helm. Artemis takes it with her rounded ears flattened and her muzzle dropping in shame as she stiffly holds her salute.

But when it sinks in just how upset all of his officers are, how ashamed they are of how close the _Riltha_ came to defeat, Julius stops short and storms off the bridge. None of them deserve his anger and frustration; he shouldn't take it out on them.

Julius locks himself in his quarters, ignoring the two starmas passing outside, despite having the oddest feeling that he had seen them before on a different shift. "Iroh, activate Uthur."

The shipboard computer replies in a calm, low voice, "Of course, sir. Would you like to start a new game?"

"No." Julius unclenches his fists, then lets out a sigh. "Bring up game two-nine-seven, cycle through at speed five." He collapses into his couch and watches intently as the holographic game-board fills the room. Ships, asteroids, planets-- all embroiled in a massive game of strategy.

Julius can control a fleet of over one-hundred starships in the game. Yet he can't even take care of his real crew. He's disappointed. It's a feeling he's repressed for ages, yet it's grown steadily stronger over the years. Julius also just feels like bilge-sloch, but that's an old and familiar, albeit overwhelming, sensation. He tries to ignore both and focuses on analyzing the last game he played. It had been against his brother, who lost for the first time since introducing the game to Julius. Eventually, he falls unwillingly asleep, too tired to keep his soul alert.

A low-pitched whine and the smell of cinnamon wakes him up. "Alert. Unauthorized planet entry. Alert." Iroh's metallic voice reports.

"What-?? Pok!" Julius stumbles upwards, steadying himself with a tentacle against the wall. He storms to his door and yanks it open- or tries to. He's going to blitzing ice someone. It won't budge. Julius flicks his com open and calls Dexi's extension. "Lieutenant, what the hell is going on? Why are we breaching atmosphere??"

"I'm checking now, sir."

"Get a report of which officers are on the bridge. Which shift is it?" Julius remains calm and collected. He knows how to deal with a crisis.

"Ghost, sir." Dexi replies.

"Oh, and send a security team to my quarters. I'm locked in." Julius slams a tentacle against the door. He hears muffled laughs from outside and a dark suspicion takes root. "Be prepared for mutiny, Lieutenant."

"Sir? You think it's- oh, dear Mrafi." Dexi's voice becomes drowned out by whoops and hollers.

Anger beads in Julius's soul, leaking into his bones. An inevitable soulscream of frustrated wrath forms in his skull-- pounding, _doom- doom- doom--_ as he wraps his wings around himself to hide the fire leaking from his eyes. Okumo trained him to act better than this; he can't be weak, he can't give in to his emotions.

The door opens and Julius rattles his bones as he storms out of his quarters, blocking the soulscream off behind a glass wall. Lieutenant Avag, head of the _Riltha'_s Fire Brigade, salutes as three of his fibers put restraints on the two mutinous starmas who'd locked Julius's door. One of the mutineers, an orange tabby miriel, spits at Julius, who scowls back. "I'll deal with you later." He barely resists spitting a choice insult-- _zankish_ _preet. _It only reminds him of the insolent starma calling him a _pokkish zank_. He's been called many things, but never anything as bad as a hellishly stinking cunt; at least, not to his face.

"Captain." Lieutenant Avag clicks his beak, ruffling his deep-blue feathers. Julius stifles his admiration for the uilodh's elegant wings. He considers his own webbed wings pleasingly intimidating, but, unfortunately, never elegant. "Admiral Arakdu has been calling."

"Make something up." Julius snaps, turning to head for the bridge, then stops to amend, "No, bero. Patch him through to me, you're a terrible liar."

"Za." The uilodh salutes with a raised wing.

When Julius reaches the bridge, he glowers around at the captured mutineers as a team of fibers drag them out for the brig. Ensign Jazz has taken control of the helm and pulls the _Riltha_ into orbit around the lush planet. "Take us back to the fleet, Ensign." Julius orders her. She salutes, scowling. "I'm going to speak to the Admiral."

Jazz's scowl drops in concern, her black-furred tails lashing. "Sir, please don't execute them." She begs. "We're all tired, they just- they just wanted a break."

Julius doesn't answer as he heads into his office and slams the door. The call from Admiral Arakdu waits, his holographic beak twitching as he gulps down a worm. "Wave-Captain Julius of the starship _Riltha_." Julius suppresses dread beneath the anger boiling his bones. "You've abandoned the fleet, gone off course, and attempted to land on a planet. Explain yourself." The Admiral doesn't look directly at Julius, avoiding the unseemly sight of the sedryn. Half-Sedryn, rather, which is why Julius gets away with being unglamoured. If he weren't so pissed off, he'd enjoy the uilodh's discomfort.

"I noticed this planet has a certain food my miriel starmas require to stay healthy. We're low on it." Julius comes up with the lie in the vain hopes that he won't be ordered to kill any of his people or executed for treason. His fists clench; he unclenches them, but they curl again, begging to slam into the stupid beak of his Admiral.

"I've come to a decision regarding your frequent problematic behavior, Captain." Arakdu's stupid beak clicks smugly.

Julius stands at attention, the tired dread prickling while he futilely tries to ignore it. "Yes, sir?"

"The _Riltha'_s campaign has been extended five more years without furlough. In addition, you will take the vanguard in each battle, since you seem to enjoy stealing all the glory. We're headed to the Thorn Brand in two trials. I suggest you stay alert, Captain. No more gallivanting." _Pokkish zank_. If anybody deserves such a title, it's Arakdu.

"Yes, sir." Julius salutes. The communication ends. The hologram flickers out. His fists finally clench as he trembles with a maelstrom of emotions tearing through his bones.

He manages to stay under control as he exits his office into the bridge. His exhausted officers glance at him but say nothing. They all must have seen the orders sent from the Admiral. He manages to stay under control as he strides through the halls, passing starmas who take care to avoid getting in his way.

But as soon as he enters the brig, the detachment and the control shatter like vials of toxic acid, raining corrosive shards all through his bones: all through his soul: bleeding through his eyes. The mutineers stop talking amongst themselves. A few look ashamed. Most look angry.

"I should _keelhaul_ every single one of you!!" Julius bellows, channeling the strangling emotions into wrath rather than a helpless soulscream. Most of the mutineers show fear at his outburst. Good. He crosses his arms and taps his tentacles on the floor, letting the growing terror and guilt in every eye soothe his rage. "And that's the order from Admiral Arakdu." He pauses, watching as his mutinous starmas shift uncomfortably with heavy dread. "Bero, it would have been, if I hadn't lied to him."

"We just wanted a pokkin' break!" A myren cries, dressed in the red and black of the Engineering division. "Y'all've been fucking our utatil for six years, we're sick of this bilge-sloch, we don't even get paid till the end, and when's that gonna be, huh?? When pok rains, and not if we die of exhaustion first!" The other mutineers mutter agreement, but none are quite as brave.

"Thanks to your clever little stunt, our campaign's been extended by five more years." Julius scans the group with a glower. Nobody can meet his gaze as they all realize the gravity of what they've done.

"What are you gonna do?" The myren engineer asks, showing more spine than anybody else in the group.

"The fleet is heading for the Thorn Brand. As such, you will each only spend two trials in the brig, excepting the ringleader." Julius pins the brave myren with a glare. "Whose idea was it?"

"Mine, sir." The myren replies.

"No!" Another starma steps forward. They look vaguely familiar. "Don't, Fred."

"Don't fucking lie to me." Julius snaps, stomping one boot. "I'm not in the mood for bullshit."

"Are you ever??" The starma retorts, flaring their sloped nose and baring their pointy canines. And now Julius recognizes them as the insolent idiot who got in his way in the chute less than four weeks ago.

"Someone please tell me it was their idea." Julius taps several tentacles on the floor in a calming pattern.

The mutineers share guilty glances. The insolent starma shrinks, seeming to realize the depth of boiling water they're dangling above. "Yes."

"Wonderful." Julius's jaws curve in a vicious smile as he scans them. The sturdily-built human would be attractive if they weren't so impudent. Julius particularly appreciates the mussed topknot of thin braids held in place with an elegant metal hairstick, and the way their dusky golden tunic makes their hazel eyes glow. "What's your name?"

"Ryuk, sir." They tremble, yet manage to weather Julius's fiery scowl without dropping their eyes. "Please don't kill me."

Ryuk, as in the stowaway his brother saved. Julius grinds his teeth. He doesn't want to kill them, since Ergo has an inordinate fondness for strays and would get pissed if Julius hurt any of his adoptees.

"Don't tempt me!" Julius slams his fist on the transparent metal barrier, settling for terrifying them. Ryuk flinches into a cower. "I should keelhaul you and only you!" He almost feels sorry for Ryuk as tears trail down their bronze cheeks. "But I can be merciful this once. You will stay here until we receive a furlough."

"But- but that won't happen for _forever_!" Ryuk cries, and their impertinence angers Julius further. "We could die before then! I- neh- I need to-" They falter at his sharp look.

"You're forgetting yourself, starma." Julius's anger dissipates like vapor from the crash of a waterfall, fogging his bones with exhaustion. "Feel free to explore every inch of your cell. You're going to become intimately familiar with it." He strides out before they can say anything to piss him off again.

His Chief of Operations, Lieutenant Kefira, will have to rearrange schedules and stretch the crew thinner than they already were to make up for the loss of forty-five starmas. When Julius's anger fades into the background, he'll deal with Avag on how the security systems failed to notify anybody of the mutiny until it was almost too late.

Back on the bridge, he slumps into his chair. Jazz glances at him. "Sir, we'll catch up to the fleet in a few hours." Her normally cheerful voice sounds peeved.

"Wonderful." Julius presses the cold leather of his gloved fingers to his aching temples and resists the urge to let loose a stream of curses. "If anybody asks, we were investigating a possible food source for our miriel starmas."

"Yes, sir."

"You should rest, Captain." Dexi says, floating over to him. Damn Cruir and their empathic traits.

"I'll sleep later." Julius grumbles, too grumpy to be appreciative. Yet he can't help but allow a slight sense of fondness for her to creep in. "I need to talk to K'talla." Thankfully, Ergo takes the glen shift all the time, so the elder brother rarely gets a chance to interfere with Julius's operations.

"She can wait, sir. You need to take care of yourself." Lieutenant Kefira pipes up with a stern frown. Julius tiredly takes a moment to admire the strong bone structure of her cheeks and cute owlish nose. She's one of the few Humans on board, but she doesn't have the same appearance as Mother did. A bitter pang runs Julius through. "I could call Doctor Nikolai up here, he'd agree with me." Kefira smiles, her voice and demeanor gentle, but even Julius balks at crossing her.

"Bero." Julius groans, too exhausted to fight with his officers. "So it's mutiny all around, is it?"

"That's right." Dexi glows a proud rosy-pink. "I appreciate how hard you work for us." The praise lifts Julius out of his sullen funk for a brief moment.

Artemis mutters "Kiss-ass," to Kefira, who hides a chuckle behind her warm-brown hand. Dexi angrily flickers orange-red before returning to a controlled clear.

"I suppose I have no choice in the matter." Julius rises unsteadily. "Don't disturb me unless it's an emergency."

Dexi pats his shoulder again, canceling out the aching fog with peaceful affection and trust. Julius manages to give her a small yet grateful smile before he leaves for his quarters.

A large, long-furred Russian Blue tabby shadows him all the way into his bed and curls up against him. The cat's heavy weight rumbles with purrs. Julius sighs and glances at the door, pressing his back against the wall, before relenting. He removes a glove from one hand and hesitates, lost in the sea of scars covering his seven sharp phalanges, most of them self-inflicted. The cat mews and snatches his hand in its paws, gnawing at his metacarpals. Julius flinches, then relaxes, stroking the cat's stomach. "Bero, bero, you must be the other stowaway I've heard so much about."

**Author's Note:**

> https://discord.gg/FVu64z6


End file.
